Chapter 270
Chapter 270
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Driving a Wedge
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The National Intelligence Service reported that Washington had halted contact with Moscow.
That didn't mean it was over, though.
America had come to see us as a threatening presence.
It was inevitable from the moment Korea rose to become the world's second superpower.
Still, I had no intention of sitting idly by until the Americans made their move.
Just as the U.S. had cards to check Korea, Pyongyang had an ace up its sleeve to check Washington.
That ace was FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
I knew Hoover was homosexual.
In this era, homosexuality was a fatal weakness for anyone in a high position.
Of course, to make blackmail concrete, I needed proof of Hoover's homosexuality.
I had the National Intelligence Service dig deeply into mafiosi connected to Hoover.
After resorting to crimes like illegal wiretapping and home invasions, we finally had his weakness in hand.
“Sir, we've found it.”
At this point, Hoover was as good as in my pocket.
But I didn't use his weakness right away.
I held it back for a more decisive moment.
For a day just like today.
“You there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What's the response to the letter we sent the FBI Director?”
I'd sent Hoover an anonymous letter instructing that if he planned to comply with our demands, he should show it by giving an interview to a newspaper.
“We've confirmed the FBI Director gave an interview to The New York Times.”
Hoover's reaction was right on cue.
“The proud FBI Director has bowed to our demands.”
“With his homosexuality exposed, he had no choice but to obey.”
I handed the National Intelligence Service director a memo.
“Now that Hoover's shown he's willing to comply, it's time to proceed. Relay our demands to him.”
The demands were simple.
Provide the weaknesses of the American politicians Korea was targeting.
As lifetime director of the FBI, Hoover had background-checked and amassed files on countless politicians.
With that vast trove of information, shaking up the American political world would be child's play.
“I obey.”
“Oh, and once we get the information, no need to bring it to Pyongyang. Send it straight to the Soviet embassy.”
The director looked flustered at my words.
“We're not using the materials in Pyongyang, but handing them to Moscow?”
“You'll see the big picture I'm painting if you wait.”
The National Intelligence Service pressured Hoover as I'd ordered, forcing him to hand over the files.
Before long, chaos erupted in Washington.
“A senator taking bribes from a defense contractor? The nerve of that scum.”
“Lobbying at its sleaziest. Too obvious to take cash, so he takes women instead?”
A barrage of scandals rocked Washington.
It looked like the commotion from the communists verifying the intelligence.
I kept squeezing Hoover for more information while monitoring the uproar in Washington.
Then the director brought an urgent report.
“Sir. Hoover's side has caught our tail.”
“Our agent?”
“Committed suicide.”
It was regrettable, but better than the agent's identity being exposed and pinning the blame on Korea.
“We've rechecked the suicide agent's movements?”
“Verified clean. From the moment he received orders, he only moved between the Soviet embassy and our safe house.”
Good enough.
Hoover would assume the ones holding his weakness were the Soviets.
So, what would Hoover think?
If I were Hoover, I'd think this:
‘Handing information to the commies? If this gets out, my head's on the block.’
Admitting now that he'd been blackmailed wouldn't save him from treason charges.
No matter what Hoover tried, escaping my grasp would be tough.
“Keep monitoring the situation. Send a stern warning to Hoover's side.”
“I obey.”
Despite the twists and turns, the information leak operation proceeded smoothly.
Then, in under two months, it blew up.
“The FBI Director's been arrested?”
“Yes. Looks like they caught him leaking to us.”
“Hoover wouldn't get nabbed actually leaking information.”
He wasn't that sloppy.
I figured it was ninety-nine percent a leak from the Soviet side.
As I'd said before, Moscow was riddled with spies on America's payroll.
News of Hoover's arrest sent shockwaves across the nation.
“The FBI Director was a commie spy.”
“No wonder commies are crawling everywhere—with a guy like that running intelligence.”
The FBI Director's treason case escalated to congressional hearings.
“This isn't just treason; it's a major spy ring tied to the commies. We need to formally protest Moscow!”
With Congress, bureaucrats, and the military in an uproar, even the Lyndon Johnson administration—which had eyed détente—took a hard line.
“Summon the Soviet ambassador immediately.”
Summoning means calling in the other country's diplomat stationed in your country to the foreign ministry for a dressing-down.
It's a measure seen only in frosty diplomatic relations, guaranteeing a chill in bilateral ties.
“Don't dump this on innocent Moscow!”
The Soviets didn't think they'd recruited the FBI Director.
How could a voluntary loyalist to the ideological motherland sending gifts count as ‘tampering’ with the enemy?
The Soviets retaliated by summoning the U.S. ambassador.
Relations between the two countries froze solid in an instant.
“Scrap all this talk of dialogue with these filthy commies!”
The rampant Korea threat theory in U.S. politics gave way once more to Cold War logic.
“How about it?”
The picture I'd painted.
“How did you foresee it unfolding like this?”
It wasn't hard to envision this scenario.
“Both superpowers pour massive efforts into reading each other's minds. It's an idea anyone could come up with.”
In the Cold War, with mutual destruction via nukes on the table, reading the enemy's thoughts meant national survival.
The two superpowers, ever mindful of nuclear war, had no choice but to stake everything on planting spies in each other's core.
I trusted in the desperation of the U.S. and USSR clawing to survive nuclear annihilation.
The spies born of that desperation between the superpowers.
Their eyes and ears were the key to operations splitting the duo.
“Using the enemy's eyes and ears as weapons against themselves. Only you could dream it up, sir.”
“Spare the flattery and pour me a drink.”
To celebrate the operation's success, I cracked open the aged Georgian brandy Stalin had given me.
Days later, at the cabinet meeting, reports came in on the frosty U.S.-Soviet atmosphere.
“Washington summoned the Soviet ambassador again?”
“Yes, sir.”
America was coming on strong.
“The Soviets wouldn't sit idle?”
“Moscow countered by summoning the U.S. ambassador.”
That sealed it: no U.S.-Soviet reconciliation anytime soon.
At least not during this Democratic administration.
Both were proud nations, after all.
“This is getting interesting.”
It wasn't just getting interesting—I'd made it so.
But I didn't let on in front of the cabinet.
“With things like this, the U.S. and Soviets will have to watch us carefully.”
If those two couldn't join hands, the value of the remaining player's stake would inevitably rise.
“Sir. Why not ride this momentum and actively approach the Soviets?”
“Strengthen ties with the Soviets.”
I wasn't tempted.
We still needed the First World market.
The whole point of sowing discord between America and the Soviets to buy time was to seize growth opportunities. Why risk disadvantages in the First World market?
“From a long-term view, allying with the Soviets would keep America in check.”
Not wrong.
But the premise was off.
Allying with the commies would put Korea at an absolute disadvantage.
Why?
First, if the commies and Korea merged, anyone could see Korea as the boss of the Second and Third Worlds.
Then Korea would bear the full brunt of Europe's aggression aimed at the Second World.
The bloc's overall weight might grow, but the leader—Korea—would shoulder more burden.
That was why I'd only bluffed about a Soviet-Korean alliance without real action.
Second, an alliance might lead to demands for military spending.
“We're bearing this burden for the alliance—why's Korea just reaping the benefits? Pyongyang, pony up some defense bucks.”
Once allied, they could make such demands.
Even spending two-thirds of their military budget would slash our growth rate.
Third, bloc economics.
Even combined, Second and Third Worlds were smaller than the First World bloc led by America plus non-aligneds.
Growth limits would hit fast in such a small market.
An era where Korea couldn't grow like now would arrive.
Once high growth ended?
EA's cohesion would shake first.
EA stayed loyal to Korea because economic prosperity was guaranteed. Shake that foundation, and they'd go their own ways.
Even with leashes, the mere thought was a burden.
So Korea couldn't ally with the commies.
We had to keep marching in the same direction as the First World, even out of step.
“These are the reasons I can't ally with the Soviets.”
This wasn't just policy for my tenure.
It was Korea's national strategy, to be etched in the minds of Kim Jeong-gil and future successors.
I instructed the cabinet to monitor U.S.-Soviet diplomatic developments for the time being.