[War] The Korea Six: "The Vladivostok Conference- Part II"

[Michael Downey]

"The Vladivostok Conference-  Part II"
Assembled Leaders of the Korea Six
15 March 2014
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Sato had listened quietly to the words of his his fellows around this table
showing no reaction to any of their words but watching the reactions of others.
He found himself amused as usual. Everyone here, with the possible exception
of himself and their host, thought they were right. However it seemed
by the word
and reactions of others that a common understanding was not being reached. He
sighed inwardly as he stood to speak and reminded himself, his objective here
today was simply that all the involved parties attended the Russian summit. The
rest, he told himself, would come in time.

"I agree with President Nemerenko on this matter," Sato announced. "However,
I would like to add that Japan would like assurances of non-aggression between
the Republic of Korea and China, so that we are simply back here in a month,
discussing a new crisis. That said, there is one observation I would
like to make
before I hand over the floor to my Korean colleague. We have no mutually agreed
upon understanding of North Korea's status and I think that is something we must
come to to form a lasting peace. I do not propose we settle this
contentious issue
now, but, I put it forward as something to think about."

With that, Sato sat back down again. Curious about what the others would say.

"Thank you Prime Minister," said Nemerenko. Japan could be useful as
an leg of moderate thinking to stand upon, thought Nemerenko to
himself. That was something to keep in mind. "President Lee?"

President Lee, still stony faced, began his second address to the
assembled leaders.

"President Nemerenko, my country sincerely respects and appreciates
your country's mediation and opinion.  However, my government can not
countenance or condone any course of action which will in practical
effect, if not intended design, consign North Korea to be a puppet of
the People's Republic of China, to speak nothing of denying the
possibility of the rightful reunion of the Korean peninsula under one
free, sovereign government.

"As has been stated, the Chinese invasion and occupation of northern
Korea is illegal.  An unavoidable, and undesirable, fact of the
situation on the ground it may be, but accommodated it can not be.  If
the Chinese government wishes to remedy the illegal standing of it's
occupation, the only route is through thorough and complete
internationalization of the security and reconstruction of northern
Korea.  It is not sufficient nor acceptable that the role of the
United Nations be one of supervision, it must necessarily be one of
command and control.  Only then can freedom be guaranteed to northern
Korea, including specifically the right of the Korean people to
choose, if they so desire, reunification after almost seventy years of
enforced disunion.

"Madam President, you complain that your troops are being killed by
those who you believe are mere puppets of the United States and who I
say simply do not want you in our country.  If you are that concerned
for the blood of your troops, then internationalize the force.  If no
one else, the Republic of Korea is ever willing and ever ready to come
to the assistance of our northern brothers.  My government does not
seek conflict with your nation, but we *insist* that northern Korea
not be a puppet of your government, and as such remain and continue to
be sundered from the remainder of the Korean people.  My government
has no faith, and has never been given any cause to believe, that the
Chinese government has any interest in a free northern Korea,
nonetheless a reunited Korea.

"You have tried to paper over your government's illegal acts with
measures of charity designed to
appeal to those in the free nations of the world who might be swayed
by such a facade.  You build
roads, and say that they have begun to fill with traffic.  Yet where
can they go if they are not
free?  You say that there are now jobs for the people of the north to
work.  Yet what do they work
for if they are not free?  You say there are schools to teach the
young to live, and hospitals to
heal the sick?  But what is there to live for if they are not free?

"The issues of the conditions in northern Korea, either past or
present, are irrelevant to this fundamental imperative.  No people can
prosper under occupation, no matter how benign.  Economic liberty can
not survive long without political liberty, and this will never exist
in any puppet state created under the auspices of the Chinese
government.

"Freedom, soveriegn and democratic freedom, can never follow
prosperity.  No commerce can truly
and permanently thrive without a stable and trusted government.
Government, liberty, and
sovereignty must necessarily *precede* true economic progress, for it
is stable and free
government which provides the necessary environment for a people to
prosper.  And it is precisely
this which your government can not provide on its own.  The Chinese
government, by establishing
yet another puppet regime in northern Korea, will doom the people
there to further decades of
misery.

"Neither I nor my countrymen can understand what your government
thinks it can accomplish, what
benefit for either the people of northern Korea or indeed for the
government and people of China
you think will arise from the present occupation.  Your people have
paid and will continue to pay
in blood and treasure for aims which to the best of my or anyone else
outside of China's knowledge
are entirely political.  What do you seek to accomplish, what hope do
the Chinese people see in
northern Korea which is worth the blood and embarassment you have and
will continue to suffer?

"Continued attempts by the Chinese government to dominate and subdue
northern Korea will never pay dividends, and will only result in great
misery for your country.  The only remedy for your transgression of
international law and peace, the only route out of the quagmire which
you now surely find yourself trapped in, is internationalization."

Lee here turned to face the representative from northern Korea
directly, looking at him.  It was
the most he had moved since the beginning of the procedings.

"As to the remarks of the gentleman representing the Chinese puppet
government of northern Korea, you speak of a security apparatus being
trained in 'new, fantastic ways to provide for the common security'.
Might I ask if these are the same new and fantastic ways that the
Chinese train their own security forces?  I should hope not, if recent
events in China proper are any evidence of the manner of security that
the Chinese security apparatus, if not the Chinese government,
chooses.  What worth are stores, are goods, hospitals, schools, and
services if one is not free to enjoy them as one sees fit.

"As one Korean to another, as a man to a long lost brother, you are
being tempted with false gifts, gifts which must necessarily turn to
dust at the first encounter with difficulty.  You ask whether the
Republic of Korea would have had the capacity to cope with, and
effectively assist in the alleviation of, the suffering in the north
should the crisis which the Chinese invasion interrupted had become
more acute.  I do not know what my nation would have accomplished, but
I assure you, I guarantee to you and to all Koreans living north of
the De-Militarized Zone that the people and government of the Republic
of Korea would have done all within their power to help.  Even through
the years of the dictatorship of the Kims, the south has been ever
hopeful of reunion, even when the cost of such a reunion climbed as
the prosperity of our sundered people diverged.  You say the price
would have been, and even now is and will be, high.  I say that the
Republic of Korea is willing to pay that price, and to make the
sacrifices necessary for our northern brethren."

At the end of this, Lee paused to resume his former position and
recompose himself.  His comments
to the north Korean had clearly been deeply felt.  If Lee had been a
charismatic man, they would
have been very moving.  Yet, aside from a bit of color in his face, he
ramined stony faced
throughout.  Lee would never have made it in Hollywood.

"To these ends, my government makes the following proposal.  First,
that the responsibility for
security and reconstruction in northern Korea be transfered to the
command and control of a United
Nations force, backed by appropriate resolutions.  The possibility, or
perhaps probability, that
the Chinese government and Chinese security forces may continue to
play a key, though no longer
controlling, role in northern Korea under the auspices of the United
Nations is, of course, open.
Should an acceptable and reasonable scheme along these lines be agreed
to through the decision
making bodies of the United Nations, the Republic of Korea would be
more than happy to assist.

"Second, that it be agreed, again preferably through the action of the
appropriate decision making
bodies of the United Nations, that the people of northern Korea should
have the free and
unfettered choice of the form and makeup of their own government,
including specifically the
possibility of reunion with the Republic of Korea.  The current puppet
regime may remain in place,
then, only until such time that a United Nations mission has been
established in northern Korea
which might then begin steps towards this goal in a manner which does
not play into the hands of
*foreign* powers.

"Third, that if appropriate United Nations resolutions are adopted for
the formation of a United
Nations mission in northern Korea for the purposes as I have proposed,
that all parties agree to
work in good faith towards the end of the rebellion in northern Korea.
 Such work might include
ending arms shipments and other support towards supporting a violent
rebellion, while also
including moves towards pushing all members of northern Korean
society, particularly including the
rebels, towards a reconciliation and the beginning of open, free, and
sovereign democratic
processes.  Such acts may, as parties decide, begin before the
appropriate enabling resolutions
but should only be seen as required upon the passage and
implementation of such resolutions.

"Fourth and finally, that the various bilateral issues which have
arisen due to complications of
events in northern Korea should be resolved by bilateral negotiations."

"Thank you Mr. President," said Nemerenko with a nod. It was of no
surprise that the South Koreans were unwilling to accept the permanent
separation of the two countries. This could complicate matters.
"President Hong, we eagerly await your response, followed by the North
Korean delegate and finally President Williams after which I will
offer another mediative suggestion based upon what has been said.
Madam President?"

"Rejected."  The North Korean leader said flatly as he rose from his  seat,
casting a venomous glance to the South Korean President.  "You should  be more
honest with the world, you want North Korea for yourself and your  imperialist
designs are betrayed by your tactless language.  Mark my words,  if one South
Korean soldier crosses the border, I will see you dragged from  Seoul in
chains."  And with that the North Korean delegation moved.

Xia sighed.  Granted the man was right about the South Koreans, but  there
were greater things at stake here than 'just' Korea.  She had to make  a
decision... support an ally or continue on with international
diplomacy.   It was a
tough decision, not made any easier by the belligerent language tossed  around,
particularly from but not exclusively by South Korea.  "I must say,  the
South Korean position is striking for it's ignorance of events in it's own
region, and arrogance of it's policy makers.  I am afraid I must join my  North
Korean counterpart in dismissing this conference.  Thank you for your  time and
gracious effort President Nemerenko, I fear it may have been in vain,  however."
 And with that, China followed North Korea's lead.

Sato's frown cut deep lines in his face that weren't entirely hidden
by his facial
hair as he watched the Chinese delegation leave. He looked to Williams, Lee, and
Nemerenko. "Someone should try to convince them to stay," he commented.

On the American side, President Williams kept his poker face.
Negotiating with Afghan tribal elders had taught him *something*,
anyway.

How to ad-lib when things went to hell. At the moment, though, he was
tired and pissed off.

"Let them. Four million dead first day of war, for the record. As a
bare minimum. Apparently, they don't mind such a high stack of
corpses."

Nemerenko tried to keep a neutral face as Hong and the North Korean
left, but in the end could not help but shoot Williams a somewhat
scornful look at the man's inane comment. It seemed that neither side
was interested in any sort of reconciliation or compromise. "If they
had any true intention of negotiating then they would have stayed. We
are not even half an hour into our discussions. To retreat now gives
no doubt as to the course of events," Nemerenko offered to Sato. So
much for a place in the history books.

"I greatly appreciate the attendance of all parties involved here."
The reality was that this conference as a disaster, a stillborn mess
that had only hardened the resolve of the opposing sides, but he had
to give some sort of high-note end. "That we were able to at least sit
and talk, if but for a moment, hints at some future progress."
Bullshit. The Second Cold War had just officially started in this
room. Not to mention a recession, those were always fun. "Thank you
for your words, opinions and ears."

President Lee stood up woodenly, but the more observant among those
still present detected a sadness and a resignation in him.  He walked
wearily over to President Nemerenko, and offered his hand.

"I would like to thank you, Mr. President, for doing as much as you
have here today.  My country appreciates the fact that you tried to be
an honest broker in this den of lions."

A distant look appeared in Lee's eyes as he continued to speak.

"The Chinese, and perhaps others, will certainly note my harsh words
with at least a facade of indignation, and perhaps more truly
satisfaction at this result.  But I hope that you understand that
reunification has been the dream driving my country since the Korean
people were divided nearly seventy years ago.  There have been
disagreements about how to approach the issue, but never a doubt that
the Korean people should one day be reunited as one nation and one
country.  Some may call it imperialism.  But it is more base, more
guttural than that for us.  Given this, I had to try.

"I have no doubt now that the Chinese government will do as it pleases
in northern Korea.  Another regime, beholden to Beijing, will arise.
The separation will continue.  There might be prosperity of a sort in
the north now, but there will be no freedom, and reunification will
not occur, not yet.  Again, forces beyond the control of those in
Korea will hold sway.  If the Chinese had been willing, my government
would have done much to at last achieve reunification.

"It is a disheartening result.  There will be much soul searching, but
I have no doubt as to the outcome.  We have waited for seventy years.
If need be, we will wait for many more.  Our hope, the hope of the
Korean people, will not here perish."

At this point, for some reason, the...Israeli national anthem went
through POTUS's head as a soundtrack to Lee's words. His face,
meanwhile, held a look of concern.

"President Lee...What are you thinking?"

Then, "President Nemerenko, I must echo the compliments of my fellows.
You tried hard here. But it seems that we were dealing with another
Mideast: Any concessions would be a defeat, I suppose the Chinese saw
it as." Williams looked sad at this.

"I have a feeling the Chinese, the North Koreans...-want- a war, the bastards."

A sigh, as he reached into a pocket, pulled out a stress ball, and
just *squeezed* it.

"President Lee, I think we're all out of options. Annoys me that
option C has failed, B the Chinese rejected, and A is insane. And that
there seems to not be an option D."

"A war that my country will have no part of," said Nemerenko,
standing. "For either side." He hoped the point was made clear to
Williams and Lee. Russia had tried to bring a peaceful end to this.
Now all Nemerenko could do was stay out of the line of fire. "It was
nice to see you again, Ivan. And you, President Lee, I hope to
continue a positive dialogue with your nation." If East Asia still
existed in the next few days. He began pacing towards the door, the
guards pushing them open and saluting as the President left. "Good
luck," he said over his shoulder, some parting words. "You'll need
it."
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Actions:
1) The Vladivostok Conference fails, with no progress made.