This invasion was completely unprovoked, unwarranted, and could touch off an all-out nuclear exchange!” the President of the United States thundered. In the Oval Office with him were Philip Freeman, Secretary of Defense Chastain, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Balboa, and Vice President Whiting. He was speaking with the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Zhou Chang-li. “We’re very fortunate that President Kwon of Korea didn’t retaliate.”
“Indeed,” Ambassador Zhou said. The diplomat, young for a senior member of the Chinese foreign ministry at age sixty-one, seemed bored and distracted. “It would have meant the end of United Korea once and for all, I think.”
“Is that supposed to be humorous, Mr. Ambassador?”
“No, sir. I am just stating a fact,” Zhou said evenly. “The illegal government of the Republic of Korea agreed to terms of withdrawal of foreign forces. One part of the agreement was that our personnel not be detained or searched. Korea broke their part of the bargain. Second, we agreed that neither side would initiate hostilities against the other. Korea broke that bargain…”
“Korea thought that China launched that attack against them,” Philip Freeman said. “It was a tragic error, but only an error, not a deliberate act of aggression.”
“We respectfully disagree, General Freeman,” Zhou said. “Kwon lashed out at our troops merely as a show of force. He knew full well that those military units he attacked had no ballistic missiles — our ballistic missile forces are located far from the border, even the mobile ones. He shows little regard for human life. It was a despicable act, and he deserves to be punished for it.”
Martindale shook his head. “The old saying goes, ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right,’ Mr. Ambassador,” he said. “I’m talking about Kanggye, about Chagang Do province. Chinese troops have swarmed across the Korean border in several places by the thousands. They have occupied several parts of three provinces and have cut off highways and communications from three major Korean cities. It appears as if China is breaking the reunification agreement and is intent on invading Korea — or destroying it. What’s the justification for this?”
“We are of course concerned about retaliation from South Korea,” Zhou said plainly, as if the answer was obvious to everyone. “President Kwon and his advisers are plainly insane. He has launched an attack against peaceful Chinese ground troops, obviously using the unfortunate attack against his cities by some rebel soldiers as an excuse to lash out against our forces on his border. The entire world knows that his rocket attack was completely unwarranted. The rockets that hit his cities did not come from China. Yet he launched a rocket attack against my country that killed thousands of troops, most of whom were asleep in their beds. It was an incredible act of barbarism that Kwon must answer for! We are understandably concerned that he will next launch a missile attack against our civilian population.”
“So in retaliation, you’ve decided to occupy three entire Korean provinces?” Secretary of Defense Chastain said. “You have over thirty-five thousand troops in Chagang Do province alone, and more crossing the Yalu River by the hour. This looks like an invasion force, Mr. Ambassador. It’s 1950 all over again. After what you’ve done in the Philippines and to Taiwan, sir, the world naturally is afraid China wants to take the entire peninsula. Is this true?”
“It is a security force, nothing more,” Ambassador Zhou said. “Quite frankly, sir, we fear the Koreans. We fear President Kwon. We think it is very possible that he could precipitate a thermonuclear war in northeast Asia.”
“That’s nonsense,” Chastain said. “Kwon says he wants peace. He wants Korea to be left alone, without outside intervention.”
“And he is willing to risk the lives of millions of innocent persons?” Zhou asked. “Mr. President, what would you do in our situation? Would you stand idly by and watch an unpredictable nuclear power spring to life overnight in your backyard? Or would you fight for peace at any cost? We chose to fight for peace.”
“By invading a sovereign country?”
“It is well known that Chagang Do province was the seat of North Korea’s chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons testing programs, and also where they conducted many of their rocket tests,” Ambassador Zhou said. “The province has nine weapons facilities, several rocket testing facilities, four intercontinental-class launch facilities, and three nuclear reactors, all of which are capable of producing weapons-grade nuclear material. It has an extensive underground military laboratory, storage, staging, and security complex. This was too important a target to risk being left to a foreign power and obviously insane adversary such as Kwon Ki-chae.
“The safest alternative was to retake the military facilities, remove the scientific and manufacturing data, destroy the facilities, and then depart. This is our intention.” Zhou fixed the President with a sincere gaze. “It is the truth, Mr. President. China only desires peace. It is true we assisted North Korea in its development of weapons of mass destruction. North Korea needed our economic assistance, and we wanted to ensure that our influence exceeded that of the Russians. Setting up weapons laboratories was a simple and effective way of making sure North Korea stayed in our sphere of influence.”
“And what about the other invasions along the border?” the President asked.
“I am a bureaucrat, not a soldier,” Ambassador Zhou said. “I do not understand military tactics. But I assure you, our only intention is to disable or destroy the nuclear, chemical, and biological labs in Chagang Do province. Perhaps the other moves are feints to divide and confuse the Koreans. If they launched nuclear weapons against our forces in Chagang Do province, perhaps the other units could accomplish the mission. We know what secrets those weapons facilities hold, sir. If United Korea was allowed to use those laboratories to develop new weapons or to repair its existing arsenal, the threat against our country would be absolutely intolerable.”
“You mean, the risk of Korea’s revolution spreading to China would be intolerable?” the President asked knowingly. Zhou seemed to squirm uncomfortably and he averted his eyes as if he had just been discovered in a lie. “You know as well as we do that Korea is not a threat to China or anyone else, that even a nuclear arsenal doesn’t make Korea’s threat any greater. But China can’t allow a successful revolution on its borders because it might spark a similar revolution in
“That is hardly the issue, sir…”
“Oh, but I think it is,” President Martindale said. “A few provinces in China think they have a shot at autonomy. If Beijing doesn’t do anything against a nuclear-armed Korea, maybe they won’t do anything against Inner Mongolia, or Xinjiang, or Tibet. Maybe you thought you needed to show Vietnam or the Philippines or Taiwan that you are still the big kid on the block. Maybe with democracy breaking out in Asia, Beijing is finding it more difficult to deal with protests and insurgency without using military force!”
“This speculation is pointless!” Zhou interjected. “Mr. President, I have stated my government’s position as openly and honestly as possible. China is concerned about United Korea’s development of more weapons of mass destruction using captured Chinese technology, so we have taken steps to prevent the technology from falling into their hands.
“I assure you, this is a peaceful undertaking,” Zhou went on. “We desire nothing but peace. Our intention is to transport sensitive weapons technology and information out of Chagang Do province, then make sure that the Koreans cannot use the laboratories, and test and manufacturing facilities. We will destroy only military facilities. My government is even willing to reimburse United Korea for damage to civilian and nonmilitary properties we may cause. But we
“Mr. Ambassador, listen to me very carefully,” President Martindale said. “The United States was more than willing to give peace a chance when the bloodless revolution took place and the peninsula was reunited. We did everything asked of us: we vacated the country, abandoned our bases, and pulled out. We did this because we wanted to show China and the world that we could trust and be trusted. As long as the conflict in Korea was between Koreans, we were willing to stand aside.
“But with Chinese troops on Korean soil, it’s not an internal matter anymore. I feel betrayed. The American people trusted me to keep Korea free. My duty was to the thousands of Americans who died trying to defend freedom and democracy in Korea in the 1950s. I trusted you, and now China has broken that trust. My people, and the shades of the men and women who died in the Korean War, are ready to turn their backs on me.”
“Mr. President, I…”
