“Good day, Chairwoman Leyen. I am Kim Jae-seok, representative of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
“We have been waiting for you. Please, have a seat.”
After a fifteen-hour flight, we arrived in Brussels to find a barrage of sharp glares waiting for us.
Minister Kim exchanged greetings with the delegations from each country and smiled with his eyes, but as if they had all agreed in advance, every one of them frowned.
“Thank you for welcoming us so warmly. As this declaration to end the war was issued in Gyeongju, the Korean government promises to devote all its resources and assume full responsibility for implementing the Gyeongju Memorandum.”
Minister Kim did his best to ignore the awkward atmosphere and responded brightly, but the moment he finished speaking, a piercing question flew at him.
-Minister, before you make any promises, I think an explanation is in order.
“What do you mean?”
-What is this about the Zircon and Kinzhal you were promised by Russia?
“Ah, are you referring to cooperation in space technology?”
He had anticipated the atmosphere up to this point, so Minister Kim recited the answer he had prepared.
“We are the victims. Yes, we were taken in yet again. Just before the Russo-Ukrainian War broke out, there were about three million dollars’ worth of Korean assets tied up in Russia, and it seems we won’t be getting those assets back. You have no idea how badly public opinion at home was shaken over that issue. They effectively swallowed the people’s retirement assets. Therefore, we had no choice but to agree to receive a transfer of basic science technology from Russia.”
-Is that so? There must be plenty of other basic science technologies, so why space technology in particular?
“Well, that isn’t under my jurisdiction, ha ha... As far as I know, that agreement was handled by our Ministry of Science and ICT.”
The German representative glared at us with a face devoid of even the slightest trace of a smile.
-Stop playing word games. You may have packaged it as space technology, but do you really think we in Europe don’t know it’s actually a transfer of hypersonic technology?
“Representative Haienk...”
-And! The thirty billion dollars that Korea wrote off wasn’t money tied up right before the Russo-Ukrainian War, was it? Our EU intelligence authorities have already discovered circumstances indicating that Korea has been continuously and steadily purchasing Russian bonds. Please explain that first!
No sooner had Germany finished speaking than France rose up.
-Listening to this, I must say, it’s brazen. You provided Russia with a massive war chest behind the scenes, and now you talk about efforts for peace?
The United Kingdom joined in as well.
-No wonder Russia managed to hold out for four years! How could Korea do this to Europe? Weren’t financial sanctions against Russia a shared commitment of the free world?
With those words as the cue, every member of the European delegation rose and began pressing us.
Minister Kim smiled bitterly.
The West’s intelligence agencies had already figured out our method of purchase. In anticipation of such a situation, we had disguised it as a third-party purchase through an entrusted firm, but as expected, it had been exposed in only a few days.
“Very well. Please calm down for a moment. There seems to be a small misunderstanding. These bonds were not purchased under the leadership of the Korean government. A representative from NPS will explain the process. Team Leader Lee?”
As per the scenario we had agreed on in the plane, Minister Kim passed the ball to me.
Thanks to that, everyone’s attention focused on me in an instant.
“Good day. I am Lee Se-jun, head of the NPS Risk Team.”
-Is that true? All these purchase instructions came from Korea’s sovereign wealth fund?
“Yes... However, NPS is also a victim. A Chinese-affiliated entrusted firm purchased Russian bonds without our knowledge, and we only became aware of the true nature of these assets near the end of the war.”
-Does that sound even remotely plausible to you?
The German representative sprang up from his seat.
-Chairwoman Leyen! There’s no need to listen to any more of this. What sovereign wealth fund in the world doesn’t know the portfolio of its entrusted firm? If this is the sort of insincere answer we’re going to hear, we’d be better off not hearing it at all.
-I agree! Europe has granted considerable trade benefits under the Korea-EU FTA until now, but trust has now been shattered beyond repair.
-Korea was the one that broke the promise first! You will pay dearly for failing to follow the financial sanctions of the free world!
Just as everyone rose from their seats, I spoke to Chairwoman Leyen.
“Chairwoman. Were we the only ones who broke them?”
“...What?”
“If principles are that important, then we should examine them in detail. Who failed to follow them, how, and by how much.”
As I said that, I handed her a document.
“This is the natural gas sales route identified by global rating agencies. It shows very clearly just how much Russian crude oil was exported to Europe after only changing its shell.”
-Hey, what do you think you’re doing right now?
“I’m saying we should examine this according to the principles. You keep taking issue with NPS’s third-party purchases, but then wasn’t natural gas also bought through third parties? Did European citizens truly believe it was Indian?”
It was six of one, half a dozen of the other. No, if anything, it was the pot calling the kettle black. The reason Europe made it through the crisis safely after the war without an energy shortage was thanks to Russian gas laundered through China and India. Through the same routes, European manufactured goods also diligently crossed over into Russia.
“Are you saying that the European intelligence authorities, who identified the source of NPS’s funds in just a few days, didn’t know about this issue for the entire four years?”
-Hey, Mr. Lee. What exactly are you trying to say?
“If we dig too deeply into this, it will become exhausting for both sides. Let’s not do that and talk about the future instead. Korea has taken note of Ukraine’s geopolitical importance through this incident. Accordingly, we intend to devote considerable effort to reconstruction projects.”
As I said that, I handed over another document.
The document personally drafted by the Blue House was more than enough to surprise Chairwoman Leyen.
“What is this?”
“A list of reconstruction projects and the amount of support. For Ukraine’s reconstruction, the Korean government is considering fifty billion dollars in interest-free loans over the next five years, as well as ten billion dollars in construction support.”
Once money entered the conversation, the delegations from each country began watching one another.
In truth, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the biggest topic in Europe at present was these reconstruction costs. Europe, which was not in good shape itself, was already squabbling over whether or not to touch frozen Russian assets. Since the countries all differed in economic scale and interests, naturally, their goal was to pay even a penny less.
The budget they had barely managed to agree on was 480 billion dollars.
The EU had decided to help rebuild Ukraine over the next ten years through 480 billion dollars in paid and unpaid bonds. If my memory served me right, they would spend the next ten years fighting among themselves over this issue.
-...
-...
In truth, Ukraine was a troublesome burden even for Europe.
Even before the war, Ukraine’s economy had been close to the poorest in Europe. Its main exports were agricultural products, steel, and metals, and there were far too many countries capable of replacing those.
However, now that it had become the front line against Russia, they could not simply refuse to help Ukraine.
Even for strategic reasons alone, Ukraine’s reconstruction was absolutely necessary for Europe, but every country was racking its brains over how to secure the funds.
“...Are you serious? Sixty billion dollars in paid and unpaid support?”
“Yes. It is a promise officially approved by the Blue House.”
“...I don’t understand. This budget amounts to fifteen percent of our EU support.”
“That is why it is support for reconstruction projects. The Korean government will make every effort to implement the Gyeongju Memorandum.”
Leyen shook her head.
“No. I don’t believe in that sort of diplomatic rhetoric. For us in Europe, Ukraine may be a border line, but what reason does Korea have for supporting it?”
“The future. That is all.”
“I would prefer a more candid answer... In any case, I understand. However, this is not a matter we can decide hastily. If you don’t mind, may we hold a further meeting among ourselves for a while?”
Minister Kim, who had been watching the situation with bated breath, replied.
“Of course. Please take your time to consider it.”
*
“It’s weapons. Their objective is one hundred percent the arms business.”
After the heated meeting ended, at midnight.
The Polish representative said that to his deputy representative, looking utterly exhausted.
“...Are you saying their goal is the defense industry?”
“Of course. If not, why would Korea invest that kind of money in rebuilding another country?”
It did not take long for the EU members to figure out Korea’s true intentions.
Europe’s current reconstruction project was calculated to effectively turn Ukraine into a breakwater against Russia, and naturally, an astronomical defense budget would have to be poured into it.
This explained everything about why Korea had approached them.
“I see...”
And on this issue, Poland was bound to be the most sensitive of all.
Poland was, in effect, an unofficial participant in the war. Within the country, fierce debate was already underway over the issues of Ukrainian war refugees and material support.
It was only natural. Since it was all too obvious who would come after Ukraine, Poland had set aside its historical burdens and taken the lead in helping Ukraine more than anyone else.
“We have to do it. We absolutely have to do this...”
The Polish representative muttered as if possessed.
As it was, every country in Europe was currently engaged in a battle of nerves over covering the reconstruction costs. However, as an unofficial participant in the war, Poland’s position was that it could not pay a single penny toward reconstruction costs. Had it not already borne a considerable burden in refugees and material support?
“But Representative, the opposition from the UK, France, and Germany is far from trivial...”
“That’s a matter of protecting their own rice bowls. We have to receive Korean support no matter what. Otherwise, let the UK, France, and Germany pay more than sixty billion dollars themselves!”
A subtle current was flowing through Europe at present.
They shared an awareness of the problem, but no one appeared to take responsibility. It had gotten so bad that the UK, France, and Germany had tried to persuade Belgium to release frozen Russian assets, and because of that, relations among them had become quite uncomfortable.
The idea itself was fine, but then would Russia, having nothing to lose, leave Belgium alone? Then couldn’t they release Russian assets in other EU countries first?
“No. Absolutely not...”
The Polish representative had witnessed that process vividly. He had seen the majority of EU member states putting pressure on Belgium.
Through that process, he realized once again that the EU was, after all, made up of different countries.
“Deputy Representative. Did you relay this to Warsaw?”
“Yes, I informed the Presidential Office immediately, but no instructions have come down yet.”
“Then tell them again. If they reject Korea’s proposal, pressure over reconstruction costs may come down on us as well.”
“But...”
“You can trust me on this. After Belgium, we’re next. Geopolitically, we are the ones most desperate. We are at the greatest disadvantage in this discussion.”
As he said that, his secretary came running in breathlessly and said,
-Representative, are you available thirty minutes from now?
“What is it? It’s past midnight, so what sudden schedule?”
-There wasn’t one originally, but the Korean side urgently requested a meeting.
The Polish representative’s pupils widened.
“Korea?”