Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 132
Antonov’s expression changed as the corners of his mouth changed subtly, as if he understood what he was trying to say.
“As an engineer, I have listened to your opinions. I also understand that it is incredibly difficult. So now if I could give my opinion as a national leader… … It is my opinion that if you pour money, time, and manpower, eventually you will have some kind of technology and production capacity. It’s just a matter of how much resources are used in the process and whether the water owner is willing to invest that much and wait.”
“… … .”
“And if you ask me if I’m still willing to do that, the answer is still ‘yes’. In the development process, we may cooperate with other countries, and we will have to rely on imports in the beginning… … My point is that other countries should not take the decision-making power other than us in the long-term development of air power. As a result, this is a matter related to the sovereignty of our republic and the people.”
“… … So whatever that means… … .”
“okay. I have no intention of giving up. No matter how much time and effort this task takes. And speaking of words, Antonov personally, don’t you want to try a new plane? You think you’re too young to come out of the design department and end your career as an aeronautical engineer after drinking alcohol. Am I wrong?”
“What is that now… … .”
Antonov contorted his face, forgetting the time and place, and trying to get mad, but Jeonghwan continued without hesitation.
“According to the report of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, are there any unfinished projects within the Design Bureau? A secret project ordered by Soviet leaders after the Gulf War to be shocked by the capabilities of the US Air Force. Now, the Soviet Union collapsed when they were about to start building the demonstration aircraft. But don’t you still remember the blueprint without missing a piece?”
Antonov’s face turned red again.
This time, not because of drunkenness, but because he was stabbed.
“Then, was that the reason you specifically pointed out me? Why don’t you bring it back without plucking even the next main aircraft project that you were researching there?”
“I do not deny it. But ask yourself. Comrade Antonov. Are your hands itchy? One thing I haven’t finished yet, every night, the roar of the jet engine rumbles in my eyes and ears, and I can’t sleep well. That’s why you drink vodka like that. Because you are such a person. is not it?”
silence.
Silence came again in the clerk’s room.
Baek Seung-cheol was waiting for Antonov’s answer with his lips dry, and Yoo Hye-rim was looking at Jeong-hwan with a desperate expression.
And, most importantly, Junghwan… … He was just waiting quietly for Antonov’s words.
After a long period of long and short silence, Antonov’s mouth opened.
“I want to ask you one thing.”
“What?”
“I heard that there are a lot of Russian engineers here besides me, can you show me their list?”
“It’s not difficult.”
Jeong-hwan took out a document labeled ‘Top Secret’ from the desk, and Baek Seung-cheol and Yoo Hye-rim, who flinched in surprise, didn’t mind, and showed the part to Antonov.
Antonov, who had been looking at the directory classified as ‘completed conversion’, ‘under recruitment’, ‘neutral’ and ‘hostile’ for a while, muttered.
“I brought a lot. This is about the level that a few design bureaus have almost uprooted.”
“I don’t care if you say I’m cowardly. As an excuse, your superiors once planted a lot of nectarine in this republic. So I hope you understand why I am so sensitive to being subject to technology by the Soviets.”
“I’m not saying that. Given the circumstances of the country these days, it might be better to work in a place like this without worrying about food or alcohol. I said I’d like to see this because the total duration depends on how many hands are there to help with my work. Aircraft cannot be built by designers alone. With a number like this, the story is a bit different. Huh, Ferminov was here too.”
“… … so? How long do you think this will take?”
gulp.
It sounded like someone salivating from their throat.
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Now the most important part, the time required.Because what comes out of Antonov’s mouth determines whether or not how many of the people in this clerk’s office will be able to see the North Korean 4th-generation fighter during their lifetime.
Whether or not he knew the reaction of the crowd, Antonov said with his eyes still fixed on the papers.
“Originally, even if your economy grows smoothly and you give all your support, I was going to call you at least 30 years… … Just saw this and changed my mind. I can shorten the period a bit.”
“… … how much?”
“15 to 20 years. 3 years to make fuselage, 5 years to make jet engine, 7 years to make avionics and radar. The sum is 15 years. Of course, under the assumption that there will be no unexpected accidents in the middle, and if we start the actual assembly and production, and then test flights, it will take 20 years… … So, if you ask me to reduce it below this, I can’t. So, find someone else.”
“No, really, that’s enough to welcome you… … But is it really possible in such a short time?”
Even after he placed an order, when Jeonghwan showed an expression that he could not believe it easily in a much shorter period than expected, Antonov added a few clues as if he knew it would.
“This is the deadline when everything goes well, even if we take the F16, a multi-purpose low-class fighter with relatively cheap specifications, as the standard, rather than the F15, that is, the high-class fighter requested by the general secretary there. In fact, I would have to call it a miracle if I put out about 80% of the performance of the Jintung F16 made by the Yankees after making this effort… … .”
“It is a negotiable matter. great. It’s a near impossible task, but you have to accept that.”
Junghwan nodded happily.
Anyway, I didn’t expect anything like a prince of air-to-air combat that dominates the air like the real F15.
Realistically, the fighter needed for the North Korean Air Force is a multi-role fighter that can be rolled out in as many places as possible with the same development and introduction costs.
If a high-end high-performance fighter is needed, it will have to be considered only after gaining a little more trust from the United States than it is now and, above all, after China has secured a political and economic position where it cannot cast aggression against North Korea to the extent that it purchases US weapons.
Right now, even South Korea, a neighborhood that has been riding pro-American routes for many years, still hasn’t been able to bring in the F15.
As soon as an agreement was reached between the two, the complexions of Baek Seung-cheol and Yoo Hye-rim, who were anxiously watching the tug-of-war between the leader and the foreign engineer, improved slightly.
The moment Baek Seung-cheol first patted Antonov on the shoulder with an exaggerated gesture and was about to say a word of encouragement, Antonov opened his mouth as if betraying that expectation.
“… … And on top of the unrestricted support I just mentioned, I want you to promise me that you will meet some of the requirements I have put forward.”
“Requirements? If it’s a problem with alcohol, we’ll airlift all of the world’s famous sake on the condition that we get the results right and we’re supervised by our side. If you want, I’ll give you the entire Kim Jong-il liquor store I mentioned earlier, I don’t need it anyway… … .”
“Ah, it was resolved when the general secretary put my colleagues together. Even if I get drunk and fall asleep, these friends can work for me. The requirements I put forward are other matters.”
“… … What is it?”
“Who might not be Russian?” Jeonghwan asked without changing his expression while shaking his head inwardly.
What more conditions are needed here?
While he was thinking about how to savvyly reject Antonov’s will so as not to shake Antonov’s motivation, which he had barely persuaded, if he raised too many conditions, Antonov glanced back at Yoo Hye-rim and Baek Seung-cheol, who seemed to be having similar concerns, and answered.
“Let me tell you about that later. It’s a bit of a place right now.”
“… … I hope I can hear you.”
“Don’t be too nervous, comrade. I said it was a requirement, but I can change it to advice or advice. As I said before, aeronautical engineering is the totality of national industrial power, from materials engineering to electrical engineering and chemical engineering. If you listen to the requirements, your comrades will be convinced that it is necessary for the development of this country in the end.”
After saying that, Antonov added one more word as if it was important, looking sideways at the faces of the people who were changing in various ways.
“And one last thing, I am not Soviet, I am Ukrainian. I was born in Kyiv. Please don’t forget that in order to serve me, Comrade General Secretary.”
* * *
After Antonov accepted, it wasn’t too difficult to convince other Russian engineers after that.
I was convinced that the conditions offered by the North Korean side would be very good if the engineers who had not yet been recruited, those who had already joined, or that eccentric Antonov came over.
Everyone was already in agreement that Russia was getting worse day by day, if not gambling debt.
Soon, the site of the research institute where they would carry out the task that risked the fate of this republic’s security was decided, and the necessary materials and machine tools were quickly imported.
The direct manager of this task, which was set up in Hwangju, close to Pyongyang, was appointed Air Force Commander Kim Cheol-gyu, who, along with Ri Jong-su, realized the importance of air power in the Gulf War more than anyone else.
In the process of this top-secret project, which was only tentatively called ‘Research Center No. 70’ throughout the establishment process, Antonov discovered new facts that he did not know while he was addicted to vodka and gave his evaluation of North Korea’s industrial power 20 The score was also raised.
“It’s a modern group… … Korean engineers are pretty good at it. Okay, remember the parable I told you last time? You said that if you compare the production of a fighter to a car, the only things that can be made in-house in this country are doors.”
“Don’t remember.”
“Cancel the door, add tires to it. No, I don’t know if we can even do headlights with some training. Of course, they are unfamiliar with jet engines and radars for fighter jets, but if they help you with the project, you may not have to worry about the landing gear or the refueling system. Due to the nature of this mission, it may be the most difficult to make people watch their mouths… … .”
“Don’t worry about that, Comrade Antonov. You can split the responsibilities for each part so that none of them know what they end up making. Even if South Korean agents are mixed among them, we can at best guess that we are procuring MiG parts ourselves.”
After the establishment of North Korea’s first aircraft research institute, the first task was to completely disassemble the Mig 29 imported from Russia, tear off the parts, and then try to assemble it in the reverse order.
Antonov and other Russian engineers already had the process in their heads, so this work was for the North Koreans who would actually become their students, dreamers of North Korean aeronautical engineering carefully selected by Pyongsong University of Science and Technology and Kim Chaek University of Technology. .
For this work, the secretary’s office gave a special order to the People’s Army Air Force and produced two new and valuable MiG aircraft as ‘Kyobojae’.
And finally, at the time when an airfield dedicated to the experiment was built and a proper name had to be given ahead of the official launch of Research Center No. 70, headed by General Kim Cheol-gyu, the head of the research center, Jeong Hwan-eun gave a very unexpected answer to Director Kim Cheol-gyu, who inquired about the name of the laboratory. dropped the
To be precise, it was only Yoo Hye-rim, who was listening next to me, who thought the name was unexpected.
“why? Do you think this name is surprising? Lieutenant Yu?”
“Oh, no! It would be hard to find anything more suitable for the name of a research institute that would be a major revolutionary project for the republic! If it wasn’t for the general secretary in the first place, would you have thought of challenging such a feat that will remain in the history of this nation?”
When Jeong-hwan, who immediately noticed that Hye-rim Yoo tilted her head at the name she gave to Director Kim Cheol-gyu, secretly asked a question, she shook her head in denial.
But Junghwan didn’t want to give up easily because he was happy to see her like that after a long time.
“Hey, don’t lie. I thought to myself, ‘I didn’t think so, but the general secretary also has a strong desire for honor. Didn’t you think, ‘I can’t deceive you that you are one blood with the previous generals’?”
“That, that… … Of course, I thought it was a bit surprising because I knew for a long time that she wasn’t the kind of person who usually likes to show off… … .”
“Because this will be my achievement. Of course, that’s a story of success. I used to think that it was really shameful to see Kim Jong-il or former president comrades name their names in the east, west, north, south, and south of the republic, starting with Kim Dae, but now I think I can understand their feelings a little more, huhu.”
In fact, it was not his ‘real’ father, Kim Il-sung, that came to mind when Jung Hwan came up with this name, but his father from a previous life who was a failed politician.
It was said that there are times when I am overwhelmed by the most basic of human desires, the desire for water, sexual desire, or even the desire to leave a name, and the desire for fame.
And why didn’t my father get out of politics until the last minute?
‘Obviously, he wanted to leave three characters of his name like this. Looking back, I also have a very childish side. These are the ones that have real meaning only when they are built by descendants like the original JFK International Airport or the Lincoln Memorial. It must be successful in order not to be cursed by the people later that he was a dictator who was also narcissistic like his predecessors.’
However, if this unbelievable business succeeds, it is clear that Jeong-hwan’s name will remain splendid for generations to come.
Thus, North Korea’s first research institute for the development of next-generation pursuers, the official name of which was ‘Kim Jeong-hwan Advanced Aircraft Research Institute’, came into the world.
As is often seen in North Korea where the tradition of individual worship is still prevalent, it was the first institution named after the incumbent leader after Kim Il-sung University, Kim Jong-il Political and Military University, Kim Chaek Engineering University, etc. was markedly different from
In addition, as time passed later, other institutions secretly removed and renamed the individual, but the Kim Jeong-hwan Advanced Aviation Research Institute kept the founder’s name until the end.