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Because it was a stop-by visit, Scott spent only two days in South Korea, meeting alone with the South Korean president for several hours on the first day and only opening to the public on the second day.

As is customary, before the President of the United States leaves Seoul, the President of South Korea will host a state banquet for hospitality.

The banquet was not sumptuous, or had few characteristics, but the South Korean president and his wife were particularly enthusiastic.

They should also be enthusiastic, because Scott brings more than just a higher commitment to safety, but a lot of gifts that South Korea can only dream of.

According to Scott's promise, he will work hard to lobby Congress to sell more weapons and equipment to South Korea when he returns.

Among them is the F-22A fighter jet that South Korea has been striving for. It's the real F-22A, not the kind of castrated fighter that was sold to Zoben. Although according to the advice of the U.S. National Security Adviser, that is, Capua, the F-22A sold to South Korea still has to be renamed F-22K to adapt to the actual situation, and the South Korean president is happy to accept it, because it can reflect South Korea's status, but in terms of specific configuration, the F-22K will not only not shrink, but will also use some new equipment that has been applied to the F-35A, but has not been applied to the F-22A, such as a central computer with faster processing speed, and a mission system with a larger storage capacity. fire control software for use with long-range attack munitions, and more. As a result, the F-22K is on par with the F-22A in terms of air combat capabilities, and the F-22K is not only much better than the F-22A in terms of ground strike capabilities, especially long-range interdiction strike capabilities, but also surpasses any fighter in service.

Even happier for the South Korean president was the fact that Scott promised to sell the fighters at parity.

In other words, on the basis of the cost of US military procurement, South Korea only needs to pay for the additional equipment, not according to the purchase price.

It's just that if South Korea wants to buy a production license, it has to come up with a lot of money.

The problem is that the U.S. Air Force is also buying more F-22A, and Loma's production capacity is very limited, and the F-22K sold to South Korea has to be improved according to the requirements of the South Korean Air Force, so even if the production of the F-22K is arranged in a limited way, it will not be delivered until a year or even a few years later.

To this end, Scott made another commitment, that is, before the delivery of the F-22K, priority to provide South Korea with the F-35A, and its supporting weapons and equipment.

For South Korea, this gift alone is very important.

Interestingly, Scott brought more than one gift.

According to Scott's promise, as long as South Korea is willing to build aircraft carriers, the United States can sell F-35B or F-35C, and even provide South Korea with E-2D to improve South Korea's naval strength.

It's just that the attitude of the South Korean president is very hesitant on this issue.

One way or another, the construction of aircraft carriers is not a trivial matter. Although the cost of building an aircraft carrier is not very large, the procurement of supporting carrier-based aircraft and escort warships, as well as the huge maintenance costs during the equipment period, are enough to crush South Korea. Not to mention large aircraft carriers with a displacement of more than 60,000 tons, even small aircraft carriers with a displacement of more than 20,000 tons and mainly carrying F-35B, South Korea may not be able to afford it.

South Korea is more interested in other surface warships and submarines.

Although as early as a few years ago, South Korea purchased a production license for 214-class submarines from Germany, and built eight AIP submarines named "Sun Yuanyi" class in China, and they used more advanced fuel cells than the Stirling engine used in the "Soryong" class, but the conflict between the four northern islands of Russia has proved that in anti-submarine warfare, even if there is an AIP system, conventional submarines are not of much use.

Some people may think that South Korea is not an island nation and does not attach as much importance to sea supremacy as it does to the Hon.

Obviously, this perception is completely wrong.

South Korea is not an island country, but it is a peninsular country surrounded by water on three sides, and the enmity North Korea is to the north, and the neighbors in the other three directions are not necessarily very friendly. What's worse is that a ceasefire line only 10 kilometers wide cannot stop North Korea's North Man's army at all, so South Korea has to build a strong enough navy while trying to build a strong army and a strong air force. You must know that South Korea lacks strategic depth and is not separated by oceans, so a strong fleet can provide very important support and guarantee for South Korea's security.

The problem is that with South Korea's strength, building attack nuclear submarines is tantamount to a white dream.

In a sense, as long as the security guarantees provided by the United States are still needed, South Korea will not be able to develop its nuclear forces on its own, as it has done.

Influenced by this, the South Korean president made a request to Scott to jointly develop the next generation of submersible propulsion systems with the help of the United States.

The South Korean president did not say it very clearly, but he made it very clear that South Korea needs a submarine powered by a small nuclear reactor.

In fact, the research has never stopped.

More than a decade ago, a Canadian company proposed that small nuclear reactors could be used as an AIP system to give submarines unlimited submersible capability. In contrast to nuclear submarines, AIP submarines equipped with small nuclear reactors cannot continue at top speed, but they can sprint at top speed, maintaining the ability to sail at full speed for hours or more, when the propellers are propelled by the submarine's batteries. Only after the submarine's speed has dropped down can the battery be charged with the electricity provided by the nuclear reactor and propelled the submarine along.

This concept is good, but few countries attach importance to it.

The reason is simple, it is better to build such a submarine equipped with a small nuclear reactor than to build a nuclear submarine directly. As for the countries that already have nuclear submarines, they will not pay for it even more.

Affected by this, Scott did not agree, but promised to consider it deeply.

In fact, being able to get the F-22K, as well as the priority to get the F-35A, the South Korean president is already quite satisfied. As for Scott not making more commitments, it's not a big deal at all. In the view of the South Korean president, as long as the nuclear submarine is launched, the United States will loosen the restrictions on South Korea on relevant issues. More importantly, in the current situation, whether South Korea will build nuclear-powered AIP submarines is not the main question. Taking advantage of the military ambitions of the ROK authorities to obtain greater benefits and ensure national security is the first issue for the South Korean authorities.

Although in terms of population and land area, South Korea is not a small country. In terms of population, South Korea is only more than 10 million less than France, and in terms of land area, it is larger than the two Netherlands. Even in terms of economic strength, South Korea is on a par with the middle-sized countries of Europe, but in Northeast Asia, South Korea is an out-and-out small country, and even weaker than it is only a brother country of the same nation with a strip of water to the north.

Surrounded by powerful countries, South Korea simply cannot rely on its own power and influence to obtain the security and benefits it deserves.

It can be said that when it comes to foreign relations, South Korea has no choice.

In the absence of a better alternative, South Korea must ally itself with the United States and is highly dependent on the security guarantees provided by the United States, so it will have to obey American commands. While South Korea can gain some benefits by taking advantage of the sensitive surrounding situation, it is up to the United States to decide what it can gain.

Like the South Korean president, Scott got what he wanted in Seoul.

After giving the gift, Scott made two demands. First, the South Korean authorities must calmly handle bilateral relations with the ROK authorities, maintain the US-led regional order, and try not to clash with the ROK authorities. Second, it attaches great importance to its northern neighbor and prepares for large-scale conflicts.

In fact, these two requirements are not high.

Although South Korea plays a pivotal role in Northeast Asia and is the main support point for the United States to maintain regional hegemony, its influence is not only in Northeast Asia, but in the entire Western Pacific. Compared with the book, the important surnames in South Korea are still a little worse.

No matter where the U.S. relationship goes, it will remain an indispensable ally of the United States for the foreseeable future.

For decades, the United States has been vigorously defending relations between South Korea and South Korea, and it has a very clear proposition that South Korea has no reason to take the initiative to create bilateral contradictions when it has already taken advantage of it. For Scott, who had just moved into the White House, maintaining local order was even more important.

At this time, if the South Korean president does not support Scott, it is obviously unreasonable.

As for the relationship with the north, it is even more reasonable.

Since North Korea's nuclear test, the situation on the peninsula has not eased. For more than a decade, the border friction between South Korea and North Korea has not stopped. More importantly, after North Korea announced that it possessed nuclear weapons, the United States switched from a long-standing policy to a high-pressure policy.

In this regard, the value of South Korea stands out.

Whether it is the sinking of the "Cheonan" or the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the mastermind behind the scenes is the United States, and South Korea is only the vanguard.

In the eyes of the South Korean president, Scott's demand that South Korea continue to maintain a high-pressure policy toward the DPRK is not creating a conflict, but working for peace on the peninsula. After all, for a country like North Korea, which has little rational surname, too much weakness will only allow the situation to continue to deteriorate.

Overall, Scott's trip to Seoul was fruitful.

It's just that north of the military ceasefire line, the North Korean authorities are a little out of breath.

While the United States and South Korea have not announced unplanned military exercises, North Korean leaders have viewed Scott's visit to South Korea as the highest threat.

When Scott arrived in Seoul, the North Korean authorities announced that they would hold a massive military exercise north of the military demarcation line, in which at least a million North Korean troops would participate. Friction ensued between the border patrol teams of both sides in the ceasefire zone, with several military casualties on each side.

The conflict did not turn into a war, but it made the atmosphere on the Korean Peninsula suddenly tense.

(To be continued)