Chapter 268
Chapter 268
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Korean Threat Theory
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While Pyongyang bought time with its carrot-and-stick tactics, Korea's weight class kept snowballing.
The United States was well aware of that fact.
The massive volumes of cars and appliances crossing the Pacific every day were proof of Korea's swelling power.
The Lyndon Johnson administration applied pressure on exports to the US while gauging Yi Seong-jun's "line," but that was nowhere near enough to choke Korea.
"Whatever we lose in exports to the US, we can make up by selling more to the EA and the Third World."
Nanjing and Japan were already exploding with growth anyway.
The EA, Korea's second economic engine, was a miracle market growing at an average of 10% a year.
Even if sales dipped in the US, they could more than recover here.
As a result, there was no sign of Korea's economic growth slowing down.
Lyndon Johnson felt mounting pressure from those numbers.
The 1966 statistics weren't finalized yet, but the CIA had rough estimates.
The CIA pegged Korea's per capita GDP at $6,500.
Population: 71.5 million.
Considering the US's own per capita GDP of $4,100 and population of 195 million, that meant Korea's GDP alone came close to 60% of America's.
And that was just Korea, not even counting the EA.
Including the EA, Korea's weight class surpassed 80% of America's.
It was a truly terrifying scale.
The moment Lyndon Johnson heard this, he felt a powerful temptation to slam Korea with a tariff bomb.
But the opponent was Yi Seong-jun.
He was a senile old madman who might hit the self-destruct button if squeezed too hard.
It was far too risky to gamble on soft thinking like that, given the dangerous track record he'd shown.
Yi Seong-jun just might pull off something even crazier than imaginable.
Hadn't his recent actions already proven that?
The president said nothing as he lit a cigarette.
"Your Excellency, we can't just leave Korea be like this."
"How about squeezing them starting from the Third World again? Stir up political chaos using rebels."
The aides tossed out various ideas, but not a single word reached the president's ears.
Tricks like that wouldn't faze Korea in the slightest.
If they wanted to bring Korea down, they needed a different approach.
What they desperately needed was a bold strategic pivot.
If there was one path to finding a way, it was reconciliation with the Soviet Union.
But the Democrats couldn't pull off US-Soviet detente on their own.
They'd need at least tacit approval from the Republicans.
Unfortunately for Lyndon Johnson, the Republican mainstream were the types who threw fits at the mere mention of negotiating with the reds.
Nixon's Daisy ad had planted the idea that negotiating with the commies might be okay, but it wasn't enough to shift the entire party's opinion.
The president sank deep into thought.
"Public opinion. Public opinion."
Amid his deliberations, the president latched onto one key thread.
If only they could sway public opinion, they could shut the Republicans up.
At that moment, a flash of insight struck Lyndon Johnson.
The president summoned Gardner Ackley, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.
"Chairman."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Let's step out for a smoke and talk."
The president led Ackley to the room next to the conference room.
"What's this about?"
The president locked the door and spoke in a low voice.
"It's nothing major—just need a little help from your friends on Wall Street. Possible?"
"I'm not sure to what extent, but they'll basically be willing to provide support."
Considering the damage Wall Street had taken from Korea, getting their help was a given.
"Good enough. No money needed. Just ask them to stir up anti-Korea public opinion."
"Public opinion shaping?"
That was a risky proposition.
In a democracy, tampering with public opinion bordered on outright manipulation.
"Too difficult?"
"Not at all. We'll give it a shot."
"Perfect. The CIA will provide the materials."
The president figured that if Ackley's friends delivered as expected, it would be a winning play.
A few days later, major US media outlets ran columns and ads portraying Korea as a threat.
"The Oriental invasion bankrupting America's wallet! Resist the Korea flooding across the Pacific!"
"This year, already 60% of the US economy. Can we stand by while Korea closes in on our hegemony? Historically, wars have erupted when hegemonic rivalries peaked. To prevent a world war, we must check Korea."
"The EA eyes the throne of the world's largest market. The reality of the massive economic alliance led by Asia's dinosaur, Korea!"
As these columns and ads poured out in force, Korea fired back.
"Korea: America's most cooperative ally in the battle for hegemony. A look at the long friendship between Washington and Pyongyang."
"Korea, top buyer of US farm goods, emerges as the hope of the Corn Belt."
While waging this opinion war, Lyndon Johnson also took the pulse of the Republicans.
In truth, the real target of this opinion campaign wasn't the public—it was the GOP.
If it had been about convincing the masses, they wouldn't have dumped all that classified info in the first place.
Republican lawmakers couldn't hide their shock at the massive data dump from the Democrats.
"Scattering state secrets on the street like trash. These guys have lost their minds."
But Lyndon Johnson's gambit paid off.
Anti-Korea sentiment bubbling within the GOP quickly hit the boiling point.
"We knew Korea was getting stronger, but this fast?"
"What the hell have those Democratic morons been doing to let Korea grow to 60% of our size? Unbelievable."
"Even the Republicans need to reflect!"
Even the GOP hardliners who'd pushed a tough stance on the Soviets swallowed hard at their party's calls to prioritize checking Korea.
In this atmosphere, spouting hardline US-Soviet rhetoric just to appease the military could doom them in the next election.
"It was a problem that we'd grown too damn big."
The Johnson administration's gambit succeeded because Korea had become far too enormous.
Pyongyang anticipated the Johnson administration's next move.
"If the Republicans stay quiet, the Democrats will pull out their long-cherished post-Cold War vision."
"Probably."
Yi Seong-jun had backed Brezhnev, the champion of the status quo, precisely because he'd foreseen this possibility.
But with Brezhnev's power not yet solidified, the detente Johnson wanted was still on the table.
"Your Excellency, we can't let this situation fester."
"Who doesn't know that?"
It wasn't as if Yi Seong-jun had no desire to thwart America's post-Cold War scheme.
But with anti-Korea fervor exploding, it wouldn't be as easy as it sounded.
"For now, we should make our move on the Soviet side first."
After much deliberation, Yi Seong-jun finalized his thinking.
"Have the deputy prime minister head to Moscow."
"Understood."
He dispatched his key aide, Kim Jeong-gil, to rein in the Soviets.
He also rushed National Intelligence Service agents to Washington to bolster their own opinion war.
Korea launched a total counteroffensive against America's maneuvers.
If US-Soviet reconciliation ever came to pass, the entire balance would flip—and Korea couldn't just sit idly by.
Should that happen, the Soviets might seize Korea's position, leaving Pyongyang ironically in Moscow's shoes.
If things went that way, the sweet deal they had now would be gone for good.
Yi Seong-jun spent the entire day in the prime minister's residence waiting for incoming wires.
"Your Excellency, wire from Moscow."
"What's the content?"
"Moscow says they have no intention of reconciling with the US. In exchange, they're asking for some leeway on this round's loan interest payments."
The Soviets weren't fools.
They were cashing in right away on their risen value.
"We'll have to grant that much."
This wasn't the time to bicker over a few extra bucks in interest.
"But if we give in to every demand like this, who knows how far their greed will go."
It might start small, but they'd demand plenty later on.
Yi Seong-jun was well aware.
"I've got other plans for that. Go ahead and accept."
"Understood."
At the same time as Pyongyang and Moscow exchanged wires, Lyndon Johnson received a report from his Moscow ambassador.
"Pyongyang dispatched their deputy prime minister to Moscow?"
"Looks like they moved first to tighten things up."
From Korea's defensive posture, Lyndon Johnson sensed that his offensive had hit home.
Looking back, Korea had never shown such a passive stance.
"Your Excellency, what about our special envoy?"
"No need to rush yet."
That was Lyndon Johnson's judgment.
They could hold off on decisive action until the Republicans and the military fell silent.
So the president thought, but the Koreans weren't just sitting around either.
Major outlets like The New York Times ran ads commissioned by Korea's National Intelligence Service.
"If COCOM collapses, hordes of silenced Soviet subs will prowl the Atlantic! Is there a countermeasure?"
"If Korea joins hands with the Second World, we could see fronts on both the Pacific and Atlantic."
Remember: if Washington views Pyongyang as a threat, Korea can do the same.
Pyongyang answered the Democrats' Korean threat rhetoric with a chilling counter-threat.