Dear Comrade Leader, Episode 208
Chapter 74. How far have you been with privatization?
“… … Isn’t that great enough? I thought my comrade had a strong sense of pride, but it’s a bit surprising to call that level of failure a failure.”
Hearing Antonov’s confession, Jeonghwan tilted his head and asked again, saying he did not understand.
That is because, in fact, Jeong-hwan was very satisfied that the first military transport helicopter in North Korea in front of him had at least 80% of the performance of the Mig-26.
“Considering the given conditions, wasn’t it very good? friend. I didn’t ask for a miracle. I know what a great feat it is to have produced a Soviet-made, dead copy version of a helicopter in this republic in just over 10 years. I want to commend you. It’s not like I’m doing this with my bare mouth, but I feel like I want to give him a medal, but I don’t want it anyway, so I’m skipping it.”
Junghwan’s words were sincere.
Although he was neither an engineer nor an aeronautical engineer, he was a researcher who knew that technology and know-how in any field could never be accumulated in one stone.
In a country that could not make a single automobile, let alone the aviation industry, in just over 10 years, a military transport helicopter that works even with a minor grade can be produced.
In fact, even if you make only 50% of the original performance instead of 80%, Jeonghwan was going to encourage him and the research team by saying, ‘You can’t be satisfied with the first drink.’
However, it soon became clear that Antonov had not yet reported all the facts.
“A water bottle that understands the tedious process of localization of technology and self-development… … No, I’m glad to have met the leader. But listen to the end. As you said, it’s not a very serious problem, it’s a very serious problem.”
“Tell me. Don’t listen.”
“First of all, the reason for the failure to achieve the goal was that the initial goal for this project was too high in the first place.”
“… … Comrade Antonov! What are you talking about after receiving the people’s blood tax under the consideration of the general secretary for 10 years now!”
The Politburo members and generals who were observing Antonov’s reckless remark raised their voices and Jeonghwan’s eyebrows twitched, but soon he raised his hand and signaled Antonov to continue.
Then Antonov swallowed his saliva again and spoke again.
“The goal of this project was to mass-produce medium-sized transport helicopters in time to meet the needs of the country’s military. If it’s literally just copying, then we changed the original design so that it could operate even in the windy mountains according to the demand, and we started developing and manufacturing it accordingly. And after a lot of hard work, we succeeded in producing the engine and the main rotor in-house. In fact, that is also the main meaning of this localization project. But the problem is the other parts.”
“Isn’t that what you can import? I didn’t even want an unrealistic goal like 100% localization rate in the first place.”
Jeonghwan shrugged as if asking for something obvious, but Antonov was still serious.
“The problem is that that part is a power train. Since the power train has been changed from the existing Mig-26 design, many of the other interlocking parts must also be manufactured in-house rather than imported. There are no facilities.”
Jeonghwan’s face, who finally began to grasp the problem, slowly hardened.
From the time I first ordered development, I did not think that even a single screw could succeed in localizing the Republic Zero, but again, the goal of self-production of military aircraft within 10 years could not be easily achieved.
Even in the original history, Japan and Korea, which have a much higher industrial power than present-day North Korea, drink seaweed soup over and over again, so they have no choice but to assemble or transfer some technology by obtaining a license under cooperation with a foreign company.
“That means… … Are you saying that you can’t make it in Korea no matter what you do?”
“It’s not impossible, but our technicians have to make all of them by hand in the factory, so even if they die and wake up, they won’t be able to meet the quantity and time they require. The first required quantity is 230 units for transportation, medical, etc., but if you go into mass production and manually make and assemble 230 power transmission units by hand, it will be impossible to deploy them on site even after 10 years.”
“Wait, we can make it, but if time is a problem, can’t we just build a factory that can produce mass in a short period of time? Technology is what you teach our engineers… … .”
Jeonghwan asked so quickly, but Antonov shook his head again this time.
“Then again, money is an issue. Even though 230 is too many to make by hand, it is also an ambiguous number to set up a factory line to make that amount. Do you know what the economy of scale is? If it is a private company, there will be a demand for helicopters in various ways other than military use, so you can invest heavily and preemptively install it, but this is a national research institute, so that’s not possible… … To be honest, we’ve made really great progress so far.”
“… … .”
“… … Think about it, even considering that the investment was generous throughout the development period, engineers with accumulated know-how in internal combustion engine manufacturing, such as modern automobiles and Ssangyong, joined in the middle, and they even performed industrial espionage there afterward. The process that took 30 years was surpassed in just 10 years, but from the perspective of a foreign country who does not know the circumstances behind it, it is almost… … No, I literally made oil from nothing!”
Antonov’s eyes blazed with fire, and his voice was raised, but Junghwan was still listening silently as if he was thinking about something.
Antonov, soon realizing that he was a little agitated, gave a rare cough, then shrugged and continued.
“Hmm, hmm, now I know, but for the reasons I mentioned earlier… … I’m sorry, but this is a failure that cannot be mass-produced for the military. Realistically, as a demonstration machine for accumulating technology, make a few more, turn it into a long-term project, and then import the amount you need right away… … .”
“No, I think that problem can be easily solved.”
“… … What?”
At Jeonghwan’s words, Antonov said, ‘Really?’ His face paused for a moment.
Soon after, he opened his eyes and asked Junghwan again.
“Hey, Comrade Secretary-General… … I know best that you are not usually interested in self-reliance of this defense technology, and that you are willing to spend a large amount of money for it, but nevertheless, trying to build a small number of demonstrators in the maintenance window like this and setting up a factory dedicated to helicopter parts. Expansion is a different story. If it’s a military vehicle, I don’t know if it has something in common with a commercial vehicle… … .”
“How different?”
“no… … !! I know this country is getting richer these days, but it’s not a joke, it’s inefficiency to build a new factory line to make 200 or so and build a new factory line to self-sufficient horse and helicopter parts! It would be a different story if at least thousands of helicopters were printed and the demand for parts continued, like the US military or our former Soviet military, but that’s not the case here, is it? Or is it that you don’t want to make your precious People’s Army soldiers walk sweaty feet all of a sudden, so you’re going to have them all done by helicopter?”
“Comrade Antonov is right, comrade. It’s only in a series like the love story of the Ryu sisters, but the captain follows the captain and rides a direct plane… … Our republic’s national treasury is not in the water, and we have already allocated close to 2 billion dollars in dollars to this project. … .”
Jang Seong-taek, who was listening to their conversation with his mouth shut, said, ‘That’s a bit… … ‘ I carefully advised Junghwan, but Junghwan still waved his hand in a sullen attitude.
“It’s not like that, but if money is a problem, the solution is not simple. Now this republic is also a market economy system. If the government of a capitalist country causes inefficiency in the public sector, then there is a way.”
Jeonghwan, who has spoken up to this point, spoke as if declaring to Antonov, generals, and executives who looked at him with an expression that he did not understand the English language.
“It means that if the tax does not work, we have to raise the necessary financial resources by attracting private capital. I am ordering the privatization of a part of the development project for the next direct flight. Now, the straight line part will be made by a private company listed on the Pyongyang Stock Exchange, not by a research institute here. This is the birth of the Republic’s first defense industry.”
* * *
In fact, privatization and private capital were drawn in. Considering the sensitivity of the business and, above all, security, it was clear that the new defense industry would eventually have to be a semi-state-owned company like Peony Holdings and the Korean oil group.
The management rights of ‘Chosun Aviation Co., Ltd.’, which was established by combining the former Ssangyong Heavy Industries and Seongsam Aerospace Industries, which left South Korea during the Asian financial crisis and settled in Chongjin, and researchers who were tired of the stuffy and bureaucratic national laboratory life and wanted to take risks It was a story that had to be in
And the ‘management’ of the company, which was established by receiving investments from several companies by half of their own accord (Isn’t it patriotic, I’ll give you tax cuts, and the purchasing customer is the country, but the minimum profit is guaranteed) was also selected based on that logic. became
“Comrade Antonov enters the board. Anyway, since you’ve put in a lot of effort, I’ll give you a 10% stock option as well. As a technical director, I usually focus on developing the chaser, but like now, I can give advice whenever I need it.”
“… … In the end, if you want to receive a dividend, you have to work harder. All right, the Cold War is over, but we need to build an airplane without guns and missiles.”
Co., Ltd. soon started to build a parts factory for a medium-sized transport helicopter named KMIG-1 and the official name ‘Seomae’.
Still, since it is a private company, it is necessary to create a profitable and plausible business portfolio, increasing the number of production units as much as the power supply system reduces the loss, and Antonov says that the reason for the failure of mass production is to develop a helicopter that is too heavy for the first business. It was a bonus to accept the comments of the , and start a new project.
“Try to make a small maneuvering plane like the 500MD from Douglas McDonnell in the US. If you attach an armament, it can be used as a small armed direct plane, and as it is small and cheap, there will be demand in the private sector… … And above all else, the difficulty of development is relatively low.”
Fortunately, light helicopters like the 500MD have already been smuggled through Europe in the Republic of Korea in the 1980s and rolled around.
And a few months later, after seeing the demonstration launch of a new anti-tank missile for infantry, which he had not seen after looking around the city of Pyongyang in the sky on the Prototype No. asked as if
“With this, among those three goals and five major tasks, the five major tasks have come to an end. But, Comrade Secretary General.”
“I’ve been thinking since the last time, can’t you please call me general secretary? So what is it?”
“I was reminded of the missile… … I heard that you and the military of this country changed their hypothetical enemies. It’s not South Korea anymore… … What if our Chinese Comrade (comrades) slapped the back of the head? After all, Soviet party officials have never believed in China.”
“… … There seems to be a lot of rumors going around in the lab.”
In fact, a person of the size of Antonov must have noticed at any time when he saw the weapon system being developed by the People’s Army.
Although it is an open secret, he may have noticed it long ago as he is at the center of the Korean People’s Army’s national defense research and development.
But when he asked the next question, Antonov’s voice became much lower and more insidious.
As if he was afraid that someone around him might even hear it.
“… … But I think, if you really want to secure a safeguard against China’s sovereignty, you’ll know very well that developing a transport helicopter itself is not enough. Are you really forgetting what you need to prepare?”
“Comrade, what do you want to say now?”
“This conventional reinforcement of power is by no means meaningless, but the era has long ago entered an era in which weapons to destroy enemy countries are flying in the sky from thousands of kilometers away. As you know, the Soviet Union and the Yankees made a mark in history in that field. The era of weapons that attack while looking directly at the face of the enemy had already come to an end during World War II.”
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Now Antonov’s voice was so low that it almost sounded like a whisper.But in Jeonghwan’s ears, it was clearly heard as if it were thundering.
“I’m not talking about tactical units, but strategic units. comrade secretary. Broadly speaking, the F16 class fighter you asked for also falls into that category. You may think it’s presumptuous, but given the trust you’ve shown me, I’ll give you some advice. I hope we don’t lie to each other.”
“… … .”
“I know we took our engineers who already have know-how in that area. I know that even that old idiot Yeltsin was holding it tightly under the management of the FSK (Federal Intelligence Service, the predecessor of the FSB) so as not to hand over this amount even when the Soviet Union collapsed like a sandcastle… … But it was a time when nuclear warheads were passed on to 20 bottles of vodka.
Having said this, Antonov took a deep breath and finally talked about the main point.
“Why don’t you think about developing a long-range missile? In any case, Beijing and Shanghai would have a much better advantage in all negotiations if they had cards in their hands that would definitely blow them away. Is diplomatic pressure still a burden? If not, I haven’t bought your trust enough to tell you yet… … ?”
“Your guess is correct.”
Junghwan answered with a voice that was as soft as Antonov, but with a clear voice, interrupting him.
But the content of that quiet voice really plunged Antonov’s head into chaos.
“Actually, we already have our own missile program. It’s only been a while since I started in earnest to keep it a top secret.”
“Well, my prediction was right. But then neither China nor your good friend, the Yankees, will be very fond of… … .”
“… … privately led. Even if China says so, it will be difficult for the American Yankees, who worship the free market economy, to accuse them of it. We do not have missile range guidelines like South Korea. My comrade doesn’t know, but these days, even missiles can be privatized.”