NationStates Jolt Archive

Nanking Airport, URoC - 17 June 1974

The General-Secretary's plane, an Ilyushin Il-86, landed almost perfectly on the main runway. General-Secretary Kim Li-Chung barely noticed, but if he had, he would have reflected that had he done this three months ago, the landing would have been much harder, as the pilot had undergone extensive training in those months, vastly improving his flying skill.

The large plane taxied to a stop by the waiting delegation. A set of stairs were pushed to the door, and the door opened. First out were two security agents, then Kim Li-Chung stepped out and walked down the steps. At the bottom he was greeted by the North Korean ambassador to China and a member of the Chinese State Department.

They moved quickly to a waiting car which, once they were inside, drove off and headed out of the airport. Kim was not sure where the car was going, as he had not been to China since the change of capital. After a brief mental debate, he decided that he would let the Chinese driver worry about their destination. He would think about the task he had to perform and the significance of it.

Nanking Airport, URoC - 17 June 1974

The General-Secretary's plane, an Ilyushin Il-86, landed almost perfectly on the main runway. General-Secretary Kim Li-Chung barely noticed, but if he had, he would have reflected that had he done this three months ago, the landing would have been much harder, as the pilot had undergone extensive training in those months, vastly improving his flying skill.

The large plane taxied to a stop by the waiting delegation. A set of stairs were pushed to the door, and the door opened. First out were two security agents, then Kim Li-Chung stepped out and walked down the steps. At the bottom he was greeted by the North Korean ambassador to China and a member of the Chinese State Department.

They moved quickly to a waiting car which, once they were inside, drove off and headed out of the airport. Kim was not sure where the car was going, as he had not been to China since the change of capital. After a brief mental debate, he decided that he would let the Chinese driver worry about their destination. He would think about the task he had to perform and the significance of it.

The driver arrived at the Presidential Palace, where a smiling Chaing Kai-Shek and his wife, Madame Chaing Kai-Shek (Meiling Soong), waited.

Chaing said to Kim when he got out, "Hello, welcome to China."

Kim Li-Chung greeted Chaing Kai-Shek and his wife, then allowed them to lead him inside. He found himself feeling slightly jealous, the Chinese Presidential Palace was a far grander place than his home in Pyongyang. He brushed the thought aside, he was here to make history, not to feel inferior. Which he obviously was, a corner of his mind grumbled. He pushed that aside too. Instead, he thought about what was coming. It would be his name that was remembered for making North Korea great, and in a non-violent manner.

Kim Li-Chung greeted Chaing Kai-Shek and his wife, then allowed them to lead him inside. He found himself feeling slightly jealous, the Chinese Presidential Palace was a far grander place than his home in Pyongyang. He brushed the thought aside, he was here to make history, not to feel inferior. Which he obviously was, a corner of his mind grumbled. He pushed that aside too. Instead, he thought about what was coming. It would be his name that was remembered for making North Korea great, and in a non-violent manner.

Chaing led Kim into a magnificent yet cozy Meeting Room, with pictures of Sun Yat-Sen and Chaing himself on the walls. On the wall was the nationalist Coat of Arms, and above the fireplace was a Springfield rifle. Here, a mahogany table not too large, but still solid nonetheless, was set up, and drinks, mainly glasses of water, were served.

Chaing motioned to the table and said, "Please, sit down."

"Thank you," responded Kim, and sat down on the seat indicated by Chaing. He accepted a glass of water from an usher and sipped at it as he waited for Chaing. He looked around the room, another very grand one, and noticed the Springfield rifle over the fireplace.

"My uncle used to have one of those," he said, indicating the rifle. "He picked it up during the Korean War." He paused, as if in recall, "A far better weapon than that used by my own country's forces at the time. I used to wonder why the Soviet equipment we had was inferior. Thanks to a western education I saw why, personal gain for completion is a far better motivator than personal loss for failure. I hope to replicate this in my own country."

"Thank you," responded Kim, and sat down on the seat indicated by Chaing. He accepted a glass of water from an usher and sipped at it as he waited for Chaing. He looked around the room, another very grand one, and noticed the Springfield rifle over the fireplace.

"My uncle used to have one of those," he said, indicating the rifle. "He picked it up during the Korean War." He paused, as if in recall, "A far better weapon than that used by my own country's forces at the time. I used to wonder why the Soviet equipment we had was inferior. Thanks to a western education I saw why, personal gain for completion is a far better motivator than personal loss for failure. I hope to replicate this in my own country."

Chaing smiled and said, "Hmmm, well, that is indeed a powerful motivator, for quality and performance indeed. On that subject....my advice, you do not have to take it, I wanted to say soemthing, perhaps allowing the people to own small businesses and property would be a good start. I would suggest keeping the transition to a market economy gradual. Even me, the vanguard of captialism, allows the government to own utilities and arms making companies."

Chaing said, "But enough out of me.....perhaps we should get to business. The URoC is preparing a coal-to-oil program, we have lots of coal, but sadly, not enough petroleum, especially due to the recent energy crisis. Would you like to benefit from this, besides the coal and other fossil fuel shipments we have already promised?"

Kim appeared thoughtful as he spoke. "Your advice is welcome, and I will remember it when I return home. Although, from my western experience, I saw that the private sector pulled in the best talent, because they paid more. State-owned business may soon be a thing of the past, even in communist countries."

"As for the resources, due to our Soviet heritage, my nation is powered almost entirely by coal, which as you are well aware is dirty and dangerous to the environment. We would be interested in a transition to other sources of energy, but I hear that coal-to-oil is expensive and it would leave our energy supply dependant on unstable Middle Eastern nations and Soviet Russia. We will accept your offer, but I request the assistance of your scientists and engineers to help us build hydroelectric plants with which to replace other power stations. I am aware that a request for nuclear power would cause undue attention towards Korea, but we no longer have ambitions in that direction, so I will not make it."

Kim smiled as he recalled the hounding North Korea recieved when it announced it was beginning a nuclear energy program. The entire world knew from the very beginning that the Koreans were not interested in energy, they wanted new weapons with which to destroy the capitalists to the south. This had quietened down since the South Koreans went communist, but the program had still been active. One of Kim's first acts as General-Secretary had been to shut down the nuclear program and announce that to the world.

Kim appeared thoughtful as he spoke. "Your advice is welcome, and I will remember it when I return home. Although, from my western experience, I saw that the private sector pulled in the best talent, because they paid more. State-owned business may soon be a thing of the past, even in communist countries."

"As for the resources, due to our Soviet heritage, my nation is powered almost entirely by coal, which as you are well aware is dirty and dangerous to the environment. We would be interested in a transition to other sources of energy, but I hear that coal-to-oil is expensive and it would leave our energy supply dependant on unstable Middle Eastern nations and Soviet Russia. We will accept your offer, but I request the assistance of your scientists and engineers to help us build hydroelectric plants with which to replace other power stations. I am aware that a request for nuclear power would cause undue attention towards Korea, but we no longer have ambitions in that direction, so I will not make it."

Kim smiled as he recalled the hounding North Korea recieved when it announced it was beginning a nuclear energy program. The entire world knew from the very beginning that the Koreans were not interested in energy, they wanted new weapons with which to destroy the capitalists to the south. This had quietened down since the South Koreans went communist, but the program had still been active. One of Kim's first acts as General-Secretary had been to shut down the nuclear program and announce that to the world.

Chaing said, "Well, we would be happy to assist you in building dams to produce energy. We were mainly relying on nuclear power as part of our public works program, but hydroelectric energy is being used in all possible locations."

"Thank you. Now, what was next to discuss?" Kim paused, "I believe you mentioned military hardware. This offer comes at an opportune time, when we are in the process of rebuilding our military forces. We plan to cut the numbers by up to a half, while improving equipment and training standards. What can your offer us?"

"Thank you. Now, what was next to discuss?" Kim paused, "I believe you mentioned military hardware. This offer comes at an opportune time, when we are in the process of rebuilding our military forces. We plan to cut the numbers by up to a half, while improving equipment and training standards. What can your offer us?"

Chaing said, "Well, we do have a new rifle coming out, it is based on the Kalashnikov but it integrates a grenade launcher and fires the 5.56 US round. Also, we have the F-15UC Iron Phoenix, our copy of the Eagle, plus all of the latest US aircraft, as well as M60 and Chieftain tanks we can sell to you, the Chieftains have been given more powerful engines to compensate for their weight, along with any other US tech you can ask for. Just ask, we shall give. We also can open our military schools to you, we have set up a new military academy in Shanghai where you can send officers, and we can send advisors to help in your rebuilding."

"Advisors we have, a multi-national group, although adding some Chinese members couldn't hurt." Kim paused, trying to recall the briefing by Defence Minister Yu, "We wish to retain our existing AK-47 rifles, as our troops know how they work, but our tanks need replacing. Your F-15 varient is interesting, is it single-seat or two? If I recall correctly, Defence Minister Yu wanted the small fighter, made by Northrop. The Tiger, I believe, but he did want some others too. I am really not the best person for this, I should have brought Yu. Ever since he heard of your offer, he has been adjusting his plans to include western equipment. Perhaps I should send for the Defence Attache from the embassy.
"As for sending our officers to your military academies, where do they sign up? My Western education showed me that their officer training was far superior to the Soviet version. We have not yet managed to change this in Korea."