31. Your Excellency’s Nuclear Development: Operation 890
The Blue House dining room.
Whiskey, soju [Korean distilled spirit], beer, and simple stew dishes adorned the table.
“Cheers!”
They clinked glasses and emptied them in one gulp.
“Ah, feels like fire’s igniting in my throat.”
“Hahaha.”
The two began to share their deepest thoughts.
The President said,
“President Jung, you don’t remember the Republic of Korea after October 26, 1979, do you?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve lived a full 40 years longer than you, President Jung.”
“Ah, 40 years? We returned to the same period, but our times of death are quite different?”
“That’s right. Time in the afterlife must be different from this world. A day could be 10 years, or a hundred years could be a day.”
“Ah!”
President Jung realized the time difference with the President.
As a returnee, President Jung knew the future up to 1979. As the head of a leading conglomerate, he was confident he could do anything, and he had disregarded the President before him.
But since the President knew a more distant future, he had to admit that the President’s long-term judgments were more accurate.
Humans are destined to succumb to time.
President Jung pressed like a child.
“What happened to the Republic of Korea in the future? Did we achieve reunification? Please, tell me!”
“Well, unfortunately, the two Koreas remain divided in the 21st century.”
“Ah! Still… it’s because I didn’t complete it.”
He was distressed and blamed himself.
The President tried to lighten the mood.
“But thanks to the foundation of economic prosperity you laid, the Republic of Korea surpassed Canada and secured 9th place in the world in terms of economic size, as you wished. Total exports in 2020 reached $500 billion, and the Republic of Korea’s per capita income is $30,000.”
“Exports of 500 billion, national income of 30,000 dollars? Is that real?”
President Jung’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“It’s the 7th highest national income in the world, higher than Italy.”
“We surpassed Italy?”
The President, amused by President Jung’s astonishment, rattled off future statistics.
“World No. 1 in computer penetration rate, world No. 1 in ultra-high-speed communication network penetration rate, world No. 1 in school informatization facilities, world No. 1 in digital opportunity index, world No. 3 in construction industry size, world No. 5 in single nuclear power plant utilization rate, world No. 5 in steel manufacturing industry, world No. 1 in shipbuilding industry, world No. 12 in world trade volume, world No. 4 in foreign exchange reserves, world No. 5 in world automobile production, world No. 1 in semiconductor production, world No. 2 in LED production industry, world No. 2 in mobile phone industry….”
With the flood of dreamlike numbers, President Jung’s ability to comprehend seemed paralyzed, as if he had been given an anesthetic.
“Ah, is that the Republic of Korea 40 years from now?”
“That’s right. The Republic of Korea has achieved unprecedented economic prosperity. It’s the envy of the whole world, all thanks to the sacrificial foundation laid by President Park.”
“Ah, thank you so much, really….”
President Jung couldn’t continue speaking, tears streaming down his face.
He had poured his soul into the country, and only after his death did he confirm the results through the words of others. How could his feelings not be extraordinary?
The President hurriedly took out a handkerchief and handed it to President Jung.
President Jung buried his face in the handkerchief and heaved his large shoulders for a while.
The chief of security, who was watching, couldn’t understand President Jung’s emotional rollercoaster.
President Jung dabbed at his tears and snot with the soaked handkerchief as if to stop the bleeding.
“I’m sorry. I’m acting foolish.”
“The descendants also recognize President Park’s economic achievements. Your hard work was not in vain.”
President Jung, who had shed a torrent of tears, had a gentle expression, as if his pent-up regrets had been somewhat resolved.
The President moved on to a lighter topic.
“Now, in my 60s, there is a food shortage, so birth control is a national policy. But in the 21st century, the population will reach 50 million, and rather than limiting births, the state will provide various benefits to encourage childbirth.”
“Encourage childbirth?”
“Yes. Childbirth is patriotism.”
“Ah, what a change of times.”
“Now, let’s have a drink.”
“Cheers!”
The glasses went around several times.
President Jung, who was tipsy, turned the conversation to reflect on the framework of state affairs at the time.
“I set five major core tasks. The people shouldn’t starve, so food self-sufficiency was paramount, along with independent defense that confronts North Korea and doesn’t rely on the United States, energy independence that doesn’t depend on oil, construction of the Gyeongbu Expressway [major highway in South Korea], the country’s main artery, and completion of the Pohang Iron and Steel Works [POSCO], the rice of industry.”
But the President had to add one more to the five major tasks.
Liquidation of military rule! It was the most difficult task of changing history.
“Most of them were successful. The Gyeongbu Expressway, nuclear power generation, and Pohang Iron and Steel are truly admirable for pushing ahead with projects that were opposed by both the ruling and opposition parties, and even the people, and for turning the tide of national fortune. It’s an achievement that no other leader could accomplish.”
The President praised President Jung, who became humble.
“That’s too much. Not everything was successful. There was one unfinished task.”
“Unfinished?”
“Independent defense.”
“Ah!”
“Without the U.S. military, we can’t overcome the encirclement of surrounding powers. It was also impossible to use all the money earned in this small country to cover military expenses.”
“…….”
“So, what I chose was to possess nuclear weapons.”
“Nuclear weapons!”
The President also knew that Park Jung-woong had attempted to develop nuclear weapons during Chairman Wang’s time.
“President Jung, didn’t the nuclear weapons development stop in the mid-1970s?”
“It seemed so on the surface. On the surface.”
“Then you continued?”
There were many conflicting stories about the truth of nuclear weapons during President Park’s time.
A conspiracy theory was rampant that the United States had Kim Je-gu assassinate Park Jung-woong to prevent his secret nuclear development.
Since the person involved was present, it was a golden opportunity to directly confirm the inside story.
President Jung revealed the inside story.
“It was 1970. The new U.S. President Nixon, who had been replaced the previous year, announced he would reduce the 60,000 U.S. troops stationed in Korea to 20,000. However, with 50,000 Korean troops dispatched to Vietnam, North Korea’s misjudgment, taking advantage of the expansionist atmosphere of the communist bloc, was the biggest concern. We started Operation 890.”
“Operation 890….”
To summarize his words, it was like this:
When President Park strongly protested the reduction of U.S. troops stationed in Korea, the United States promised $1.5 billion in military aid over five years to modernize the Korean armed forces in exchange for the reduction.
The place where President Park used some of that money for defense modernization was none other than nuclear weapons development.
To him, weapons modernization meant possessing nuclear weapons.
President Park ordered the completion of nuclear weapons development by 1977.
Of course, it was carried out in top secret, and the code name was 890.
In addition, they also carried out a project to develop missiles with a range of 350 km that could be equipped with nuclear warheads, code-named ‘Baekgom’ [White Bear].
They purchased heavy water reactors from Canada, reprocessing facilities from France, and secured plutonium by reprocessing it in domestic nuclear reactors.
However, Kim Young-wook defected to the United States and revealed the fact of nuclear weapons development to the U.S. intelligence agency.
The United States released a large number of informants and eventually found out about the nuclear weapons development.
The United States thought that it would vaguely know and pretend not to know like Israel, but it was a misjudgment.
If Korea possessed nuclear weapons, the United States, fearing that a nuclear domino effect would occur in East Asia, including North Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, urged them to give up with all sorts of threats and enticements, including the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in Korea.
It included assassination of key figures and subversion operations of the Park Tong government.
In August 1975, nuclear weapons development was officially terminated with a memorandum exchanging ‘abandonment of nuclear development and strengthening of the U.S. defense commitment to Korea’.
In exchange for giving up nuclear weapons, the United States created the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, began Team Spirit training [joint military exercise], and disclosed the fact that U.S. troops stationed in Korea possessed tactical nuclear weapons.
They also actively supported the construction of nuclear power plants to solve Korea’s energy crisis.
President Jung took out a new cigarette, put it in his mouth, and revealed a shocking fact.
“But I secretly continued to develop it. I had completed all other modernization of the fatherland, and the only remaining task for me was nuclear armament.”
“…….”
He lit the cigarette himself.
“Hoo~ If we only possessed nuclear warheads, we could have frustrated North Korea’s provocative ambitions without spending huge amounts on defense every year. That’s why I endured even while being criticized as a dictator who violated the constitution.”
“…….”
“I said this to the Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs around Chuseok [Korean harvest festival] in ’79: Let’s unveil nuclear-armed missiles at the Armed Forces Day event on October 1, 1981. On that day, I said I would take all responsibility and announce my resignation.”
“Resignation!”
“Someone had to take responsibility for breaking the promise with the United States. I was prepared to take that responsibility.”
It was an amazing fact. If he had lived just two more years, Korea could have become a nuclear-armed nation.
Since it was not realized, it could not be verified whether it was true or not.
But the President couldn’t help but be moved by his self-sacrificing spirit.
Only then did the President understand what Chun Doo-hwan did as soon as he took power during Chairman Wang’s time.
After the 10.26 incident [assassination of Park Chung-hee], as soon as Chun Doo-hwan seized power through a coup, the first thing he did was order Prime Minister Choi Kyu-ha to completely delete the nuclear weapons development program.
In order to have the United States approve his coup, which had no legitimacy, he offered the nuclear weapons that he had worked on for more than 10 years to the United States.
This time, President Jung asked.
“Your Excellency, what happened to the nuclear weapons? Was it completed?”
“It fizzled out after Your Excellency’s death because a new regime came in.”
“…….”
“To be honest, the new military, led by a man named Chun Doo-hwan, handed over the nuclear development plan to the United States and had his coup condoned.”
“You son of a bitch! Traitor to the nation! Such a guy doesn’t deserve to be tortured to death!”
“The subordinate who shot Kim Je-gu this time was Chun Doo-hwan. He also died as a guest of the military police’s gun.”
“Well, it’s a blessing in disguise.”
President Jung mixed beer and soju and gulped it down in a glass like barley tea.
“Ah~”
President Jung chewed on a piece of kimchi as a snack.
The President said,
“But North Korea ends up making nuclear weapons.”
President Jung jumped up.
“North Korea has nuclear weapons! That can’t be?”
“They starved millions of people to death and made it anyway.”
“Did the United States just let that happen?”
“They missed the opportunity. The petty people in Washington were caught up in wordplay.”
He was furious.
“You idiot bastards! Politicians are always like that. How can they govern a country with such small livers!”
“…….”
“If they had dropped a nuclear bomb on Beijing like General MacArthur during the Korean War, the Korean Peninsula, no, East Asia would not have come to this point. They foamed at the mouth and stopped me from having nuclear weapons, saying that if South Korea had nuclear weapons, North Korea would also have nuclear weapons, but what is this? If North Korea has nuclear weapons, the United States will pay the price.”
“What could have been prevented with a hoe can’t be prevented even with a backhoe now.”
“Well, Your Excellency knows the future better than I do, so I feel presumptuous to step in. Now that I know Kim Young-wook’s identity, please take care of it.”
“You thought well. Leave it to me.”
President Jung emptied his soju glass by himself.
The President also emptied his glass.
“Chef, we’re out of alcohol here!”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
President Jung, who was fiddling with the empty soju bottle and calming his emotions, asked.