Empire of the Ring

"The U.S. won't overlook China's expansion policy and ethnic hegemony. How can the U.S. ignore Korea that's on the front line? That's never going to happen. I'm saying this because I can have a better view of Korea from living abroad."

"There are fewer people who are pro-Korean in the U.S. government and public now, and the relationship with the United States is not as smooth as it used to be."

"I don't know why you're overreacting. For order and peace in Northeast Asia, Korea is playing many roles. If you're in such a heavy position, you should ask for something more confidently from the U.S. I am worried because Korea looks like it's being dragged even by China these days."

"That's why we need more force. Would China treat us like this if we had a formidable force?"

"Force is one thing, but I'll tell you about the economy. Without the parts brought in from Korea, China cannot produce goods either. I think that you should not be dragged around, but be strong. It's presumptuous of me, but It'll be great if Korea broadens its perspective when dealing with powerful countries."

"I don't have anything to say since you're right. I was so relieved to see you so bold while dealing with China. It's such a comfort to Korea."

"I will help Korea if I can. However, it is impossible to violate the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty like you suggested."

"I came up with the idea because Kazakhstan was building a Korean nuclear power plant. You need a nuclear reprocessing facility and a team of technicians, don't you? There are many talented researchers in Korea."

"Please, keep going on."

"I heard there's a nuclear bomb test site used in the Soviet era in Kazakhstan. That'll be the best place for it. It's an already polluted area, so you won't have to find a new place. Do you have any intention of building a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility there?"

"You are familiar with our internal affairs quite well. Then, do you know that Kazakhstan has denuclearized?"

"I'm well aware of it, but the world still thinks that Kazakhstan must be keeping some of the nuclear weapons made in the Soviet era."

"I've never heard such a wild guess before. Kazakhstan has no nuclear weapons, and we don't have any intention of developing them."

"Russia and China also have nuclear weapons. The world doesn't think that former president Nazarbayev has eliminated all of the nuclear weapons. There should be at least one or two left."

"I don't care what they think. We just want to be in peace with other countries."

Park Jong-il abruptly called for nuclear weapons, and now the head of South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration was asking if Kazakhstan had nuclear weapons. If there was, Youngho would not tell him, but he wondered if President Nazarbayev had really hidden some of the weapons before. It was not an absurd idea since Nazarbayev was the one who was insecure about being sandwiched between great powers.

If he did, only he and his close officials would know the truth.

"What I told you today is irrelevant to the Korean government. It was my personal wish for the dignity of the motherland."

"I was once a Korean citizen, too. I'm still hoping that Korea will do well. If something urgent happens in Korea, I will help you in any way."

"I appreciate your words."

"I can't let you return empty-handed since you came this far."

"We received a 2.2 billion contract to build Aegis destroyers. What do you mean? It's already a huge gift."

"All Kazakhstan is a natural resource. If you need any raw material for the defense industry, please let me know."

"We have already asked for support through the Kazakh Ambassador in Korea. The Kazakh government was amicable to our request."

Youngho had been deliberately avoiding Korean officials because of his negative image of them, but today's conversation was enough to change his mind. It was quite refreshing and shocking that Korea was thinking about nuclear weapons in case the U.S. military pulled out from Korea. This kind of plan could not be made by one person. Either there must be a supporter or it was the idea of the head of the Korean government.

"Do you fear China more than North Korea?"

"Your Highness, I was in the military for 30 years until I was appointed to head the Defense Acquisition Program Administration. How can a solider be afraid of his enemies? But I believe we need a strong force to prevent conflicts."

"I'm glad to find someone who had the same idea as me. The only strong force is the truth. And only when you decide to fight, peace can be achieved."

"That's a great saying."

"I used it once with my staff, but they didn't respond very well."

"They must not have a military background."

"Our country's Prime Minister was the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces."

"Then the Prime Minister must believe in something else."

"I just said that there's no such thing as nuclear weapons here."

"Hahaha… I didn't mean that. He must trust you very much."

"I promise you one thing. Kazakhstan will act upon it if China threatens Korea."

"That'll be a great strength to us."

"…And would you tell the Chief of the Bank of Korea to keep an eye on China`s economic trends?"

"What do you mean…?"

Trade with China occupied a big part of South Korea's economy. If Korea did not prepare in advance, it would suffer from a major backlash.

"I believe that China is facing an economic crisis. If you tell that to the Chief of Bank of Korea, a group of finance experts working for him will understand what it means. I'm sure they will be already fully prepared for such a case."

"I see. Thank you for your valuable information. Kazakhstan's future is bright since it has you, Your Highness."

"That's not true. We are always struggling since we're surrounded by powerful nations. In order to overcome that, we chose constitutional monarchy under the name of revolution."

Although Youngho did not tell him, Kazakhstan would have nuclear weapons in secret anyway. It would give Kazakhstan strength that would overcome Russia and China. Only when it had the power to surpass Russia and China, the peace in Central Asia would be guaranteed.

***

A month had already passed since it had become a new year.

Kazakhstan's winter was always cold, but this year's winter was even more severe than in previous years. The cold weather that was so severe that even in the welfare paradise of Europe, the death toll was so huge. The harsh cold had swept the globe, causing poor families to suffer further.

Many Kazakh people, who had high pride, tended not to show that they were out of food or firewood. Nomads could collect branches in the fields and eat sheep or goats that they had been raising, but poor people in the urban areas were not in a position to do so. Kazakhstan's welfare programs could save poor people, but as the economic situation was better than before. However, death occurred during the cold season in a northern city. It must have been caused by the lack of food and firewood.

"Your Highness, we have a ramen factory and a combat food factory running 24 hours a day. And we're bringing lumber from Kyrgyzstan."

"If that's not enough, use Siberian timber piled up in the royal territory."

"We can't use them in vain when we paid a high logistics price. We need to come up with a permanent measure. The one I can think of now is to adopt an electric heating system as the residents of the royal territory have."

"I didn't think of that. Would it be more efficient from using lumber as firewood?"

"Yes, it will be much more efficient to install solar panels."

"Call K Electronics at once. We should expand our solar panel plant right away."

"Your Highness, why don't we build a few more solar panel factories in different regions?"

"Expanding the plant that's already there is faster than building new plants."

"You know, the distance from the factory to each region in demand is too far. People won't be able to be benefited in time."

"After all, the traffic network is a problem."

"Yes, that's true, and it's uneconomical to make roads where only a few people live. A light plane is the only way to travel in remote areas but we only have a few light airplanes in each airport and the royal territory."

"Ah! There is a light plane."

Although there had been many changes under the new government, there were still many places in Kazakhstan where administrative power was to be reached. Especially, most of the nomadic people could not be benefited from basic education and medical privileges.

Since the government could not force them to settle down in city areas, a project was underway to build schools and medical institutes in remote areas.

The visible problem with the new government was the expansion of transportation networks that could travel between the remote areas because the government budget was not abundant enough to put roads in such places. So, introducing light aircraft that could travel quickly between remote places was the most efficient way to reach them. Since flying a light airplane was not so difficult, it was easy to train pilots in a short period of time, and they were not too expensive. Youngho immediately ordered Suh Min-seok to contact Cessna, the airplane manufacturer.

"Suh Min-seok, when did the Cessna staff say he's coming?

"He'll be here tomorrow. But don't expect too much. He expresses disapproval of building a local factory here, saying it's impossible to build a factory just to sell some dozens of them."

"Man, those guys are so full of themselves. They don't know how big the Kazakh market is."

Youngho asked Cessna for a local assembly plant. Considering how vast Kazakhstan's area, there should be at least 300 six and eight-seater light planes.

Light airplanes should not be mistaken for poor propeller planes. The satellite navigation system controlled the plane, and there were safety devices in case of a crash, so it was safer than a car if the pilot did not make a critical mistake.

"That Cessna company is quite snobbish because there's no other company like it in the light aircraft market."

"These days, jet planes are so popular that the propeller plane is not so favored. I guess Cessna is thinking that we're only going to buy a few dozen."

"Then are you going to buy more?"

"Hundreds are not enough to cover the whole Kazakhstan. How many did you say we're getting?"

"I thought we'd deploy three or four units at each airport. So, I told him that we'll be getting a double-digit number of planes."

By the standards of Suh Min-seok, dozens of them would be huge deals since a light airplane was about 300,000 to 400,000 dollars per each.

"Tomorrow, you'll get to watch the surprised face of the Cessna staff. We'll have airplane parts piled up in the warehouse before the cold goes away."