Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 189
Even at the moment when Jeong Hwan and North Korean officials hurriedly gathered to discuss countermeasures and decide future policy directions, the world was moving in a hurry.
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Newspapers around the world reported the burning Oriental Pearl and Jin Mao Tower on the front page, flights to China were canceled all at once, and the stock market plummeted.Above all, the Chinese public security authorities and military were frantic to find out the perpetrators on special orders from the party and the president, and the perpetrators were identified without difficulty.
[As a result of searching and collating the records of the crew members before the crash, the list of passengers, and the past traces of the suspects, it was revealed that the force behind the planning of this unprecedented Shanghai terrorism was revealed within just two weeks of the investigation.]
[Shanghai terrorist, identified as al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden… … China’s recent advance into the Middle East, alliance with Israel, and Islamic repression are cited as reasons.
[China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson hinted at a tough response. ‘China will take revenge on Shanghai and crush terrorism by any means… … ‘ All troops of the People’s Liberation Army are in first-class alert posture. ‘Vengeance’, ‘forced response’, ‘power of the people’… … . Violent words appearing on the front pages of state media such as the People’s Daily.]
[Where is Osama bin Laden now? Will the world support China? China, behind the terrorist attacks, is highly likely to turn arrows to the Afghan government, which has long been in conflict over drug issues.]
“Let’s talk about each other’s opinions. First of all, I wonder if the creation of this multinational army is really the heart of the Chinese comrades. Why would you do this when you can just hit it?”
A few days after China’s call for a permanent board of directors meeting and the creation of a multinational force came through, and a few days after Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were blamed for the terrorist attacks, Jung-hwan turned to the members of the Politburo and said so.
There were a few people who were summoned in a hurry and were reminded of the circumstances, but fortunately, many of them had settled their embarrassment and regained their composure.
And Kim Yong-gun, one of the few who quickly regained his composure, was the first to speak.
“Once China’s Allied Powers… … The creation of a multinational force proposed to the United Nations is highly likely to be a smoke screen. They were sticking out their flippers knowing they wouldn’t pass either.”
“Why is that?”
“Isn’t it for building a cause? We did as much as we could, but the Afghan government itself did not give up on bin Laden. So, no matter what we do, don’t be blamed, that’s what it means.”
“That makes sense. After all, it is not an era where even China can start a war as easily as in the past.”
Jeonghwan thought, “Probably, even if support comes from other countries, there is a high probability that China will reject it.
For the past two weeks, he has been keenly aware of all the signs and has tried to observe the present situation and predict the future against what he knows.
And the conclusion he reached was not much different from the words that are coming out of Kim Yong-geon’s mouth.
“In my opinion, as pointed out by Comrade General Secretary, the Chinese leadership has already made up its mind to use force. In fact, as long as there is oil, I think this decision would have been made at any time, even if it was not terrorism, in order to secure hegemony in the Middle East. But now that there is an excuse to not care about the international community, all that remains is time… … .”
“It should be within a month at the most. The problem is winning or losing. What did Vice-Chairman Jang not hear? Do you really think China is going to attack Afghanistan?”
When Jung-hwan asked Jang Seong-taek, the deputy head of the Organizational Guidance Department, who had a complicated expression from before, Jang Seong-taek stuttered for a moment, surprised to see if he was in deep trouble.
“yes? Oh, of course. I have already heard from my comrades on the Chinese side that the People’s Liberation Army military districts are moving troops.”
“Then the multinational army’s luck is definitely a smoke screen. After all, there will be few countries that will take sides in the international community.”
“But that’s not necessarily the case. Even if other countries participate in the war, there is a high possibility that China, which is trying to monopolize oil, will shake hands first. … .”
Kim Yong-geon, who hesitated for a moment, tried to add a word, but Jung-hwan deliberately pretended not to hear, and turned to the other Politburo members and asked.
“Now then, the most important issue remains. What kind of diplomatic strategy do you think our republic should take on whose side in this situation?”
The question is, again, ‘Who do you think will win?’ It was no different than asking.
And to this question, members of the Politburo gave answers that did not deviate too much from what Jung Hwan expected.
“That’s China.”
“Of course, shouldn’t we be on the side of China? Even if it is second to the arrangement of the clan, you have to take the side that wins so you can eat rice cakes later.”
“There is a high possibility that Western countries, including South Korea, will be on the sidelines, but if we leave it as it is, China will not eat all of the Middle East. The United States will have to look into it, but shouldn’t we take care of the national interest of our republic in a way that doesn’t hurt the Yankees?”
‘Hmm, now they have become more like state bureaucrats with a rather pragmatic foreign policy.’
Jeonghwan was happy inside, knowing that no one among the Politburo members was saying anything like ‘comrades on the socialist ideological front’ or ’50 years of diplomatic ties between Korea and China’.
In the past 10 years since they had been watching the diplomats and policies of the supreme leader, they were beginning to acquire the qualities of high-ranking bureaucrats in a capitalist country who could put the national interest rather than ideology as their top priority.
It has been more than 10 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union and ideology no longer determined the national policy and diplomatic course, but the number of those who were obsessed with the specter of the Cold War and the logic of confrontation between communism and capitalism in the First World and Second World are still ignored. I couldn’t.
Humans are immutable creatures, so even if you say that it is hard to believe that you have no choice but to make up your own mind, it is hard to believe, but as Jung-hwan, who has seen quite a few times in his past life, where these ‘living fossils’ decide even the most rational foreign and security policy in his life, he can take a breather. It could be said that there was a sight.
It is not easy to change the mindset of the elite, who are not in a hurry to make a living right now, although ordinary people who have a job to make a living are sensitive to changes. … .
Watching their general secretary over the past 10 years, they also seem to have changed quite quickly.
It was to confirm this point that Jung-hwan interrupted him, knowing what Kim Yong-geon was going to say.
‘Now, I don’t know if the time has come when I can only rely on my own personal judgment.’
However, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea still needed Jeonghwan.
Even the answer that satisfies Jung-hwan right now was not a 180 degree deviation from the original history.
In fact, at that time, the target was the United States, not China, so it was reasonable to judge that it is, but the present-day China is far below the United States at that time.
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No, in fact, it is the same even compared to the China of the era in which Jeonghwan lived.“I’m sorry, but everyone is wrong. The loser in this war will be China.”
“… … no… … !!!”
They were the members of the Politburo who followed the dear General Secretary like the sky, but this time, a light of distrust appeared on their faces.
Is the supreme leader trying to say that Afghanistan, the world’s most underdeveloped country with nothing but sand, will defeat China?
Of course, the Soviet Union also failed in its attempt to conquer Afghanistan, but at that time the Soviet power was not projected, and unlike the Soviet Union at that time, China is now completely overturned.
“Cho, Comrade General Secretary. I’m sorry, but we, who are ignorant of the perspective of our comrades, do not understand at all. America or the Soviet Union… … No, it’s not even Russia, because Afghanistan and China are fighting… … Are you saying that China will lose?”
“I need to make some corrections. China will be the loser in this war, but that doesn’t mean Afghanistan will be victorious. It is clear that sometimes wars are without winners. Isn’t that the ㅤㅇㅞ Nam (Vietnam) war right now?”
“Gee, yes, but… … .”
Even if Jung-hwan gave Vietnam’s case, a representative example of ‘we won in tactics but lost in strategy’, they did not seem to be able to easily understand them.
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No matter how remarkable North Korea has grown over the past 10 years, their minds have the perception that China is still a huge power, a benefactor who protected the United States from the Fatherland Liberation War (even if it is impossible to say it out loud because of its pride), and that is why it is such a powerful country. was stuckOf course, the general secretary and the Persian Gulf War directly showed that economic power is military power and that modern warfare will be even more so in the future, but unlike the United States, China is close to Afghanistan.
If we just send 100 million out of 1.3 billion people with a Kalashnikov rifle, wouldn’t it just push away Afghanistan?
Jeong-hwan, who clearly saw the thoughts of the Politburo members, quickly explained the reason.
“Of course, China is one of the most powerful countries with a population of 1.3 billion. If you compare Russia to a brown bear and America to a tiger, China is, like I said last time, a dragon. However, this dragon has not yet obtained a female hero. Ascension may be possible in the next 10 years, but for now, it is not yet a real dragon, but more than a Imoogi and less than a dragon.”
Compared to the members of the Politburo, who looked like they didn’t understand, Jeonghwan’s thoughts were firm.
Today, economically and militarily, China is far below the level of the United States at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in its original history.
GDP is less than Germany, military power does not yet have a proper carrier fleet, and even in this war, we cannot expect the precision bombing and real-time close fire support of the ground forces that the US Air Force used.
Unlike the United States, which was on the other side of the world, the fact that Afghanistan, a small area, is close is advantageous, but in Afghanistan, which is mostly mountainous, air operations using helicopters are important. It was fatal.
In the end, there is nothing to have an overwhelming advantage other than pushing with the armored power and the number of infantry, but it was obvious that the infantry fighting guerrilla warfare without proper air support would result in a huge number of deaths despite the armor.
And what made it even possible to speculate that China could challenge the US hegemony in the world is thanks to the long-running shoveling of the US following the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the original history and the reflexes from the consumption of national power, but it seems that even that will not be possible this time. It was.
Jeonghwan thought that he would try to achieve his goal by turning Afghanistan into a sea of blood as the cause was clear and the benefits to be gained were clear, but in the end it would be difficult.
“… … And Afghanistan is the tomb of a traditional empire. China is a dragon, but in the pond of Afghanistan, it will drown in a swamp and will not ascend to heaven and will sink forever. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s okay to bet. There is no doubt that China will follow in the footsteps of Britain and the Soviet Union.”
“… … If so, Comrade General Secretary. Comrade Kim also pointed out earlier, but… … . What should our republic do? If China loses the war, as the general secretary said, it has the advantage of reducing diplomatic pressure on its neighbors, but there is no need for us to step into a losing war.”
“The words of Comrade Vice-Chairman Jang… … .”
“Isn’t there a treaty on the DPRK-China alliance? The treaty has been renewed from the time of the Fatherland Liberation War until now, and if that side builds a cause, it is highly likely that pressure will come on our republic at least to participate in this expedition, unless other countries know about it.”
Korea-China alliance treaty.
What Kim Yong-geon was trying to say earlier, and what Jung-hwan now thought of as soon as he heard China’s call for a multinational military force to be called in.
Just as there was the Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty between Korea and the United States, the following provisions were stipulated in this treaty concluded after the end of the War of Fatherland Liberation, that is, the Korean War.
[Article 2. The Contracting Parties undertake jointly to take all measures to prevent aggression from any State on either of the Contracting Parties. In the event that either Contracting Party is brought to a state of war as a result of an armed invasion by any one State or a coalition of States, the other Contracting Party shall, without delay, provide military and other assistance with all its might.]
“If you look at the Taliban attack in a broader sense, it can be seen as an armed invasion. So far we’ve been in a position to help, but… … Since I have received something, there must be something to ask for… … Didn’t they tell them to send the Korean People’s Army to their expeditionary force to give the appearance of receiving the international community’s support?”