21st Century Goguryeo

January 20th, 2024, 18:00 (UK time: 10:00)

Westminster Foreign Ministry building in London, England

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office, located at the western end of the River Thames, was one of the buildings that had a stylish and old-fashioned façade that was characteristic of a medieval building.

*Shortly after the end of the First Northeast Asian War, the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth, which was established in 1968, was divided into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Commonwealth. The reason for this was that they felt the need to concentrate their diplomatic power to actively respond to the rapidly changing international situation, as well as thorough management of the Commonwealth's member countries.

The building, which had red brick walls that were adorned with rose vines spreading out in all directions, was heavily guarded by armed British troops.

At least 200 well-armed British troops and bodyguards surrounded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. It was clear that an important person demanding safety was paying a visit to the Ministry.

This important person was Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan, who was almost assassinated by CIA agents two days ago in Riga, Latvia.

Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan, who was transferred to a safe house following the assassination attempt to receive intensive treatment, was not seriously injured due to the protective suit he was wearing at the time. However, because he was shot multiple times from close range, his chest and other parts of his body were bruised. He was fortunate not to have been shot in the head.

Despite the bruises that covered his body and made his movements uncomfortable, Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan insisted on returning home only after completing the special mission assigned to him by Minister Kang Kyung-hee.

Several orders were issued for him to return home, but in the end, Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan dragged his injured self to London at 2 p.m. that day and immediately went to the British Foreign Ministry building to attend a secret meeting with Minister Enders. The meeting, which was initially scheduled for the day before, was postponed by a day due to the assassination attempt. After learning about the circumstances, the British Foreign Ministry became more concerned about his safety.

The reception room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with its colorful sculptures and antique picture frames hanging from the ceiling and walls, created an ambience of the past that made it seem like it was a scene from a movie that was set in the Middle Ages.

In the center of the reception room, two men sat facing each other on soft chairs with a wide square table carved in the shape of a flower between them.

Ten minutes earlier, they had greeted each other and drank the coffee served by the assistant and had entered into an invisible fight.

"Mr. Enders! Wouldn't it be better to see a lush forest than to see a few trees in the garden?" Kim Myung-hwan, the Second Vice Minister, began the conversation with a figurative expression.

"Well, you're getting too esoteric." Minister Enders, who took a sip of the coffee, put his coffee cup down on the table and shrugged his shoulders.

As expected, the head of the British Foreign Ministry was quick to act. In response, Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan took advantage of the situation and attacked him first.

"Haha, even elementary school students can understand what I'm saying."

"No, I didn't mean to imply that I didn't understand Vice Minister Kim's words. It's just difficult to tell which part the garden is and which part the forest is."

Minister Enders was indeed a formidable figure. He was trained in Britain's unique parliamentary debate politics, and he was also a narrator who had served in parliament for over 30 years and occasionally had quarrels with the Prime Minister, cornering him.

Even though the Prime Minister had a difficult time in Congress every Wednesday due to the 30-minute free question period because he didn't have time to prepare answers in advance, it wasn't simple to force him into the corner with the questions.

He not only possessed a wealth of knowledge, but he also had brilliant eloquence and the ability to respond quickly to a situation.

"Oh! I see. Minister Enders, where do you see the garden trees and the forest?" The Second Vice Minister, Kim Myung-hwan, was slightly perplexed but he quickly resumed his question, trying not to show it.

"Well, as I said earlier, it's difficult to decide."

At that moment, Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan's eyes sparkled. "Oh! Is that so? So, you're saying it's difficult to tell whether Korea or the United States is the forest?"

Unlike the sparkling eyes of the Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan, Minister Enders' expression hardened at that moment—an expression that showed he didn't know how to respond.

"Hahaha, that's..."

Minister Enders, who tried hard to smile, lifted the coffee cup and drank from it again.

"Minister! Then I'll help you to decide where the lush forest is." Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan, who spoke in a slightly firm tone, took some documents from his briefcase, put them on the table, and pushed them toward Minister Enders.

"What is this?"

"Please take a moment to read the document at the top, which is a summary and then read the rest slowly."

Minister Enders quickly took the thin document on top and began reading it, while Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan observed Minister Enders' expression.

After a few minutes, Minister Enders, who put the document down on the table, gave Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan a firm look.

<'Haha! As expected, Minister Enders is not a person to be taken lightly!'>

Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan was taken aback by Minister Enders' appearance, who remained expressionless despite having read a huge secret. If he were a regular person, he would have been shocked after reading this.

"What do you think? Did you change your mind?" Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan inquired about his intentions but Minister Enders remained expressionless and did not reply immediately. Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan responded by relaxing his posture, leaning back, and deciding to wait for his answer without asking any further questions.

As time went by, the air in the reception room became heavier, and finally, Minister Enders began to open his tightly closed mouth.

"Actually, I am more than surprised. However, I wonder if this document is true," said Minister Enders, tapping his finger on the document he had just read.

"It's reliable...I understand. If I were you, I would have had the same thoughts. But Minister, even though this is an informal secret meeting, would the envoy, to whom the president has delegated all powers, bring false information? It has the possibility of becoming an international issue involving not just the United Kingdom but the United States as well. You'll find more information in the rest of the document, but I'll tell you one thing. Three years ago, the Republic of Korea attacked the United States, causing significant damage. Instead of launching a massive retaliatory attack, the United States abruptly switched to peace mode, concluding with the signing of a peace treaty with the Republic of Korea. Is the United States a country like that? Allow me to give you an example. During World War II, they immediately entered the war after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, which was not even on their mainland. Since that time. the United States has become an unrivaled superpower."

"That's it. Wasn't it because the United States wanted to prevent the spread of war?"

"Haha, how can Minister Enders be as innocent as a child when speaking about an international situation, despite being the head of a country's foreign ministry?"

The remark of Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan caused Minister Enders' face to crumple. Without realizing it, he made a ridiculous move to defend the United States.

<'Oh, my! I was fooled by that young guy!'> Minister Enders, who clenched his lower lip at the thought of his mistake, murmured in his head, twitching one eyebrow.

On the other hand, Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan took a relaxed posture and softly said, "If you read the rest of the documents that I gave to you, you'll fully believe it."

"Okay. Let me read them slowly. But why you are showing us these documents?" Minister Enders eased his expression and asked about the agenda for today's secret meeting.

In response, Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan smiled brightly and said straightforwardly, "We have heard that the United States is currently working hard on pursuing the British cabinet to mobilize British troops belonging to the NATO forces. Well, it would be more realistic to say that you already know that."

When NATO's participation in the war was rejected at the European Union (EU) summit, the United States immediately made some sweet offers to Britain.

The United Kingdom is currently a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which manages NATO forces but because they withdrew from the EU (European Union) in 2020, they had no obligation in following the decision of the summit. In other words, the British army was the only army capable of moving at the request of the United States.

In addition, within the NATO army, the British army had extraordinary power in terms of size and equipment. As of now, 50 percent of the NATO troops stationed in Europe and Africa were U.S. troops and 15 percent were British troops. The remaining 35 percent were troops dispatched from the rest of the EU (European Union) countries, including France.

In other words, the combined power of the U.S. and British forces alone was 65 percent of the existing NATO forces. Therefore, under the current circumstances, the U.S. needed British troops. In fact, they were desperate to have them.

"Haha, I'm not sure where you get such information because we've never received such a request from the United States," said Minister Enders at once.

Historically, alliances were formed based on ideology, but modern alliances are motivated by the logic of power and their interests. The current alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States is based on the logic of power and the calculation of their interests.

In other words, the current United Kingdom would prefer to choose the United States if they had to choose between South Korea and the United States.

Because Britain still believed that the United States was a superpower capable of controlling the international order, it refused to believe that South Korea, a small country in the East, could surpass Western civilization and become a superpower. It was safe to say that this was one of the factors that led them to choose the United States.

"Oh! Is that so? What a relief. Then, what would you do if you received such requests from the United States in the future?"

"Haha, do I have to answer regarding something that might not happen in the future?"

The meaning of those words was esoteric—that it may or may not be the case.

"You're avoiding answering me."

"No, I'm not. It's just not right to give an answer in advance based on assumptions in diplomatic relations between countries."

As expected, it was Minister Enders, who escaped like a sly snake.

"Good, Minister! Then, read the rest of the documents and let's talk again tomorrow."

"Oh! Could I?"

"Yes, can I come back at 2 p.m. tomorrow?"

"Okay. Let's do that."

"Then, I'll go now."

Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan, who had been in the meeting for about an hour, stood up from his seat. "I'll walk you to the lobby. Let's go."

"Yes, thank you."

Second Vice Minister Kim Myung-hwan, who endured the pain in his chest throughout the secret meeting, followed Minister Enders with a smile on his face.