Toni Carlucci looked up as they entered. "Hello, Mr. Hill, Mr. Chan. I hope I didn't disturb anything. Mr. Highsmith wants you to meet someone from out-of-town. Please have a seat and I'll tell him you're here." She lifted the phone as they sat in the plush, modern chairs arranged around a low table stacked neatly with magazines and brochures.
Burke picked up a recent news magazine and started to thumb through it. A headline caught his eye: "President Kwak Says Good-Bye, Thinks Good Riddance." The article told about the last U.S. Forces Korea commander leaving Seoul. There was a photo of the American general shaking hands with Kwak Sung-kyo. Burke studied the picture. The Korean president was certainly not an imposing figure. He was a stooped, elderly man with a face devoid of emotion. The article called him one of a succession of ex-generals who had led South Korea since shortly after the war. Kwak had been in retirement when the new party was formed and chose him as its presidential candidate.
The electronic tone of Toni's intercom sounded. She lifted the phone, then turned to Burke. "Mr. Highsmith is ready for you.'
Burke ushered Jerry Chan into the big office, where they found Nathaniel Highsmith and a tall, thin man with a pronounced mustache and a stubby black beard. He had the self-assured, somewhat self-important air that Burke ascribed to academics. He also had a pair of hands that seemed to require constant motion.
"Burke Hill, Jerry Chan," Nate said, "let me introduce Dr. Robertson Ramsey, senior fellow with the Highsmith Foundation."
After the smiles and the handshaking, they sat down around Nate's desk.
"Dr. Ramsey has done considerable study on the subject of nuclear nonproliferation," Nate explained. "I told him that you two are going over to Korea to work on bolstering the American image. I thought it would be a good idea for you to understand as much as possible about the sources of friction between the two countries. Dr. Ramsey can explain what happened in the nuclear field."
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Highsmith," said the professor, hands toying with the Phi Beta Kappa key that hung from a tie clip.
Charitably, Burke gave him the benefit of the doubt. The movement was probably unconscious rather than an attempt to call attention to the distinctive adornment.
"Most people aren't aware of it," Dr. Ramsey began as if addressing a graduate seminar, "but Korea was the site of one of the earliest atom bomb projects. It was located in the hills above Hungnam, a port on the Sea of Japan up around the fortieth parallel. That is part of North Korea now, of course. The Japanese were frantically working on their bomb there when the clock ticked down on them in August of 1945."
Having established his credentials as a historian, he shifted gears. "As to the events you are interested in, the problem dates back to 1970, when President Nixon announced that he was pulling a division of U.S. troops out of South Korea. The Seoul government had continued to regard the massive military strength of the North as a major threat ever since the armistice. President Park Chung-hee and his generals panicked at Nixon's announcement. Park formed a Korean Weapons Exploitation Committee, and it began to push for development of a nuclear arsenal. Missions were dispatched abroad to seek information and look for weapons components. They found a sympathetic ear in France and negotiated the purchase of a reprocessing plant."
"What were we doing all this time?" Burke asked. He wondered how it might relate to the current situation.
The professor was now twiddling a ballpoint pen in his fingers. "We were gradually putting on more and more pressure in an attempt to force them to halt their efforts. It was never really clear just how much the Koreans intended using it as a bargaining chip, a way of convicing us to forego further cuts in troop strength, and just how much was a genuine effort to acquire a defense in case we should pull out."
"What's your opinion?" Nate asked.
He smiled. "I don't think they were bluffing. Nevertheless, with the support of the Canadians, we ultimately pressured Park into dropping all nuclear weapons activities."
Jerry Chan eyed him questioningly. "Did that put an end to it?"
"Yes, but we nearly had the same problem again. President Carter revealed he would withdraw another division in 1979. But he wisely reversed himself when he was told the likely result. Park would have been under intense pressure to restart the program." Absently, he took a small black pocket diary from his coat and began to thumb through its pages.
"Apparently that worry's behind us," Burke said. "The North doesn't appear to be a threat any longer."
"Yes, quite true. It's a good thing, too. South Korea has been concentrating on a nuclear power program. It's an effort to cut down on the necessity for importing oil. They will soon have completed eleven nuclear power reactors with the help of U.S., French and Canadian firms. With all the spent uranium they produce, a reprocessing plant would give them enough material for an extensive weapons program."
"Really?" Burke saw that he, Nate and Jerry had leaned forward in their seats, betraying a suddenly heightened interest in the subject. He doubted that Dr. Ramsey had noticed.
"Certainly. You can reclaim about 500 pounds of plutonium a year from the average commercial power reactor."
"But wouldn't they need a lot more than just a plutonium supply to build weapons?" Jerry asked.
"Of course. But high-quality fissile material is the key ingredient. You can find simple weapons design technology on a library shelf. Likewise the physics of fission explosives. It's a near relative to the physics of plutonium-fueled fast breeders. The hardware isn't difficult to come by. With all the components in place, you could have a bomb ready in weeks."
"A simple weapon?" Burke asked. "Not a complex one?"
"Yes, I would have to agree there. Highly sophisticated weapons such as the warheads we build would be more difficult. You would need the delivery technology, as well. This would require a supply of knowledgable and experienced scientists and technicians, which I don't believe they possess."
The three Worldwide Communications people had lapsed into an almost stunned silence when Dr. Ramsey added with a wide smile, "But as you said, Mr. Hill, fortunately that is something we no longer need worry about."
Burke, Nate and Jerry looked at each other, forced smiles, and nodded.
"Thank you very much for the information, Dr. Ramsey," Nate said quietly. "I'm sure it gives us a much better understanding of some of the feelings we're certain to encounter over there." When he stood behind his desk, Dr. Ramsey rose to leave and Burke and Jerry got up to shake hands with him.
The professor tapped his fingers together rapidly, eyes lighting up as though a bulb had been switched on behind them. "It just occurred to me, Mr. Highsmith, you should bring Dr. Cabot Lowing down to give these gentlemen a more extensive insight. He's been working on a project concerning Korea with a colleague in Seoul."
"Good idea," Nate said. "I'll call him this afternoon."
The professor shook his head. "No, no. I'm afraid that won't be possible. Dr. Lowing isn't due back at the Foundation until Monday."
Nate shrugged. "That will be a bit too late." He turned to Burke. "We've moved your departure up to Saturday. Stay here and I'll explain in a minute."
Nate ushered Dr. Ramsey out and then returned to his desk.
"My friend at Foggy Bottom called to tip me off to something he thought might be of interest," Nate said with a smile that said he had found it not only interesting but significant.
"What's that?" Burke asked, frowning.
"The Embassy in Seoul is holding a media reception Tuesday evening. It should give you an opportunity to make some good contacts, meet some people who might prove quite valuable in the future."