Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 166
“So… … Let’s have a collusion.”
“That’s right. In fact, OPEC was formed for this purpose, wouldn’t it? In general, corporate collusion is sanctioned by the government, but the international community is essentially anarchy.”
‘What do you mean, it’s not true.’
Even though he struggled inwardly, Jeonghwan was deeply troubled, which has only been a few times since he became general secretary.
Of course, the important decisions so far were ultimately made by Junghwan alone, and almost all of those decisions were correct, so even if he made the decision alone, no one had anything to say.
Crucially, isn’t he a ‘comrade supreme leader dear’?
Who dares to say what?
‘No, no matter how much, unless the Politburo system and the national decision-making process are completely paralyzed, the minimum process should be followed.’
Even if he is a dictator who knows what will happen in the future, the nation cannot be run by a superhuman dictator alone.
Besides, the history of Northeast Asia and the whole world has already been changed by the butterfly effect, not only in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
As he has always done, this matter is too big for him to decide on his own.
“Hmm… … What a generous offer, Your Majesty. Can I give you some thought? Even I cannot make these decisions on my own.”
“ha ha ha… … Of course it’s fine for me, but you just need to know that joining is unconditionally beneficial. However, I didn’t know that North Korea’s ‘comrade the supreme leader’ would ask the opinions of ‘subordinates’. To be honest, I thought I would get an answer right here.”
“This is because our republic is changing day by day. We’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible so you don’t have to wait too long. Then come on.”
Jeonghwan answered Abdullah with a faint twist that was hard to notice in surprise, saying, ‘I thought it was a monarchy similar to this one, but it’s not,’ Jeonghwan answered and hung up.
And immediately called a meeting of the Politburo.
* * *
“… … So I called, do you have any other comrades who think differently?”
“… … .”
“… … .”
However, Jeonghwan’s decision to respect the authority of Politburo members, who should be called key ministers in a democratic country, to intervene in state affairs was overshadowed by Junghwan’s question of what to do with the members of the Politburo who were convened easily. I couldn’t answer.
(Even though it was Jeonghwan’s own intention), the party and the cabinet, who were always busy checking each other in, looked worried as if they had become dumb with honey this time.
However, it was Jang Seong-taek, deputy head of the Organization and Guidance Department, and Kim Yong-geon, who recently served as the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, who responded on behalf of each institution.
“Well, was it not right to accept the offer to join? As was the case with the last South Korea Team Spirit, the Americans are only trying to slap the back of our Republic and Comrade General with a secret sword… … But still, it’s a wise decision… … .”
“Considering the relationship with the United States, it would be better to reject it, but there is no question that it is a matter of elevating the status of the republic and strengthening its sovereignty in terms of diplomatic voice in international organizations. The final decision on Giraido is made by Comrade General Secretary… … .”
‘It’s not that difficult to do.’
Jang Seong-taek and Kim Yong-geon blurted out the backstory, but seeing such a frustrating appearance, Jung-hwan thought that it could be enough.
OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is nicknamed ‘the world’s largest and most powerful monopoly cartel’, mining more than half of the world’s crude oil.
The two oil shocks are, of course, the most overt examples of this cartel’s influence.
The name of OPEC has been etched in the minds of people all over the world after the countries around the world that depend on oil, not only Korea but also the United States, suffered a great deal of damage from this global collusion.
Joining such an organization and speaking up as a member state means that the remarks of the state called North Korea will be given considerable power not only economically but also diplomatically.
It goes without saying that it will be another great pressure for South Korea and South Korea, which have entered a new level of silent systemic competition, called the economy, as an ally of the United States, leaving the ideology of communism and capitalism.
In addition, Crown Prince Abdullah, who is now proposing to join Jeong Hwan, is not the real leader of Saudi Arabia, which is implicitly treated as an OPEC leader.
The reason Jeong Hwan withheld an answer to this proposal, which would have been accepted without much thought had he been a leader of another country, was because he had asked himself one such question.
‘I’m really not sure if this republic will only benefit from joining OPEC.’
There were three main things that made Jung Hwan hesitate to accept this offer.
First of all, due to the oil crisis, OPEC was not at all friendly with the US, although it was difficult to say that it was anti-American.
This was actually a problem before the oil crisis, first of all, it was a problem that could not be yielded to the United States, who wanted to seize hegemony in both economic and military terms, and which almost achieved it after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In the present era and for at least 20 years, energy is oil, and OPEC, which holds a large part of control over this oil, and has the power to weaponize and exercise it, had no choice but to be very dear to the United States.
Of course, the distance between countries in the world economy is getting narrower day by day.
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Neither the United States nor the OPEC organizations themselves are openly hostile to each other in international diplomacy, where neither the enemy nor the friendly country are completely friendly. … .‘… … If the problem was that simple, there’s no need to worry so much. If Jang Sung-taek also joins, he is worried about the deterioration of relations with the United States… … .’
First of all, OPEC members are nine oil-producing countries at this time, but among them, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Venezuela are the five original member countries.
The problem was that these five countries were all overtly anti-American.
Even under the Khamenei regime, which took office after the death of the infamous Khomeini, Iran showed no sign of improving relations with the United States as it did not abandon Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism.
In the case of Venezuela, the now-famous Hugo Chavez was pardoned two years after coup d’état against the indecisive president Rafael Caldera, and was raising his voice in politics, and, as Jung Hwan knows, he will actually become president later.
At least the United Arab Emirates is a pro-American country, but the size of the country itself is so small that it is in a situation where it is difficult to speak out because it is a coalition of several countries.
Right now, Saudi Arabia, the most influential member of OPEC and has offered to join North Korea, has a strong tendency to trade oil with the United States as a bait to maintain the monarchy, and it cannot be called pro-American.
And Iraq, not to mention… … .
‘It’s a country that was smashed by the United States in the Gulf War, where we fought as an ally five years ago. If we, North Korea, join here, we will be forming the Anti-American Squadron Anti-America Rangers. Do you think I’d be suspicious of Bush?’
In addition, North Korea was a country that almost made anti-Americanism its national policy, shouting ‘American imperialist enemies,’ until just five years ago.
But as soon as such a country imports British and American capital and succeeds in oil mining, it joins OPEC, which is full of anti-American countries, and tries to raise oil prices?
The Bush administration, Democrats and Republicans alike, were not less likely to regard this as a harbinger of betrayal, saying, ‘North Korea has revealed its true nature.’
Of course, joining any international organization is, in principle, a matter of sovereignty, so it was a miserable reality that the United States had to pay attention to such issues as well, but Jung Hwan was a realist.
At present, the United States was at its peak economically, militarily and culturally, and it was a time when there was no lack of being called Pax Americana or the new Roman Empire.
Even at the risk of appearing hated by such a world empire, Jeong Hwan questioned whether OPEC was a worthy organization to join.
‘Collecting is about teamwork, but in my opinion, OPEC is not going to happen at all. In fact, there have been many times when you have failed to control the price, right?’
As Crown Prince Abdullah himself admitted, OPEC is an organization whose purpose is to form a cartel through collusion and ultimately control oil production and prices.
However, the problem is that this act of collusion is possible only when all suppliers offer the same price, and even the OPEC member states, which should act as one body, did not have a bad relationship.
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Not to mention Iran and Saudi Arabia right now, Iran and Iraq have also been engaged in a long eight-year war.Moreover, if only the Middle East countries were on a bad relationship, Venezuela was not one or two times out of control and decided on the price of oil alone, and Jung-hwan was well aware that such a unilateral action would continue.
After all, shale gas technology will be discovered in 20 years or so.
And when that happens, OPEC will be hit hard enough to shake its existence.
The second reason for Jeonghwan’s hesitation to join OPEC was whether it was necessary to enter an organization whose influence was limited due to this lack of internal unity, and whether it was necessary to enter the group at the cost of diplomatic friction with the United States.
And the third reason… … .
“Comrade Zhang. Wasn’t there a report about the Chongjin Heavy Industry Zone in Rason recently? Our heavy industry entrepreneur comrades there started exporting tires to America?”
“yes? Yes Yes! Comrade general secretary! Tires made by filtering petroleum residues were of such high quality that they began to compete in the global market even with small island companies such as Bridgestone. What a victory for the industrial power of the Republic!”
“I’ll have to give you one more Industrial Medal soon. So, would oil consumption also increase?”
“… … ? Yes Yes. That’s right. These days, people’s pockets are getting bigger and more people are buying cars, so oil consumption in the Republic is increasing day by day… … .”
‘This is it. Abdullah’s words here and starting to cut oil significantly will hinder the industrial development of this republic.’
In fact, this was closer to the problem we were facing than the deterioration of diplomatic relations with the United States or the fact that OPEC’s influence was less than we thought.
Developing and underdeveloped countries are inevitably less sensitive to resources than developed countries.
It is natural that there are very few industries or consumers that will need resources such as oil, but the story changes 180 degrees when economic development begins and factories start running.
The reason why Korea has no choice but to be sensitive to oil shocks is that, as heavy industry develops, domestic oil consumption rises, but the price of oil, which is entirely dependent on imports, rises without realizing it is sky high.
Currently, North Korea’s industry was developing day by day, led by heavy industry, and oil was becoming an indispensable resource not only for industrial consumption but also for private consumption.
The reason that North Korean industry in the development stage can compete with rivals such as Korea and Taiwan in overseas markets is that it is easy to secure price competitiveness by procuring domestically, unlike those who have to import oil.
If production is reduced in accordance with Abdullah’s OPEC membership requirements, this advantage will also disappear.
It is not that the US is considering OPEC because it is running out of oil in its own country, but it is importing oil because it is difficult to meet domestic demand with domestic production alone.
The third reason for Jeonghwan’s reluctance to join was that North Korea is in a difficult position to criticize OPEC for not fixing prices internally.
“… … Still, it’s an offer that’s too good to be rejected. If you join here, your Chinese comrades will have no choice but to listen to us a little more… … .”
“Are you saying, “Comrade Vice-Chairman, you only care about China, and you don’t care about arguing with the world’s hegemony, the United States? I am afraid that such an adventurous idea may be driving this republic to the brink!”
“No, how adventurous is it to lead this republic on a path of self-reliance?”
“Both comrades, please calm down, anyway, our People’s Army is also increasingly consuming oil, and there is a way to take the third route like the Russian comrades… … .”
‘It’s the third route.’
As the controversial discussion continued, these words came into Jeonghwan’s ears, and a thought crossed his mind.
And after a while, Jung-hwan raised his hand to mediate the members of the Politburo, who were having a fierce debate, and opened his mouth.
“… … Comrade General Secretary, any teaching… … ?”
“There is no need to fight like that. Because I made a decision.”
“… … !”
At Jeonghwan’s words, all members of the Politburo became silent in an instant.
After all, isn’t it the quickest and most certain thing for the Supreme Leader to make a decision for you?
Unlike the previous leaders who had only had absurd results so far, Jeonghwan’s instructions were all correct.
Unsurprisingly, Junghwan made a clear decision for him.
“We, North Korea, will not join OPEC. Sooner or later, I will send my apologies to Crown Prince Abdullah and convey these intentions myself.”
* * *
“… … unfortunately it has been So, next time, I hope I can give you a positive answer to the Crown Prince. this much… … .”
A few days later, with an apology, Junghwan hung up the phone to Saudi Arabia.
At his refusal, Crown Prince Abdullah expressed disappointment and even a bit of anger, but
Until the end, the call ended while observing the ceremonial courtesy between the national settlements.
However, Junghwan could easily guess that he would take measures to express this discomfort in some way.
Unlike a democratic country where the personal feelings of the leader are rarely considered in the national interest, Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, and insulting the ruler of that royal family is similar to insulting Saudi Arabia.
And Jeong-hwan sent a signal to the clerk’s office to direct the international call to another place on the other side of the globe.
Although it’s already late at night, Kim Yong-geon has already given me a little remark, so by now he’ll be waiting for his phone with full of curiosity.
After waiting for a while, the caller was soon connected.
“… … Long time no see, General Secretary. It’s really heartbreaking to hear that Pyongyang citizens were so enthusiastic about Michael Jackson’s performance.”
“Well, in diplomacy, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends. However, I know that there were many complaints about OPEC before that. Wouldn’t it be unsettling for world security and the United States to leave the control of world oil to the Middle Eastern people in the next millennium? Isn’t it time we consider holding hands, Vice President Dick Cheney?”