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raised no objection, perhaps in part because the North Koreans engaged in
the practice (common in their native yogwans) of walking in the halls be-
tween their rooms in their pajamas or underwear, which was undoubtedly
disconcerting to some of the well-heeled American guests. Yet hotel space
in New York City in the summer is sometimes hard to find, and it proved no
small task to secure rooms at an alternate establishment. When we paid the
bill at the first hotel, it not only included a hefty minibar bill but also charges
for twenty-five “adult” movies. We now understood why our guests had so
frequently tended to nod off during the meetings, which we had initially
assumed was due to jet lag.
Despite these distractions, by the end of the second day, we had outlined
the basics of an agreement, which included an understanding of product
quality, acceptable quality-control measures, price, and delivery terms and
conditions. Based on this tentative agreement, which still needed to be ap-
proved in Pyongyang, the scheduled field trip went forward on day three.
The only mishap occurred when “Big Oh,” who had received several deliv-
eries of gifts and flowers from a surprising number of admirers in the New
York area, received a particularly impressive floral display, which was some-
how placed in the sedan in which he was traveling during the field trip. “Little
Oh,” who was sharing the car, promptly inspected the card, saw that it was
addressed to “Big Oh,” and tossed what must have been a three-hundred-
dollar floral display out of the window and onto the streets of New York.
By the final day we had prepared a draft of the joint statement, a press
release, and a contract based on what we had agreed to earlier. The North
Koreans, especially “Big Oh,” were initially preoccupied with the wording
of the joint statement, and the entire morning was spent satisfying their
concerns. The afternoon was to be the contract signing, and the company
chairman had arrived to participate in this momentous occasion. Follow-
ing lunch, we prepared for the ceremony, complete with champagne and
appropriate toasts. “Big Oh” then announced that there were some “prob-
lems” with the contract and turned to “Little Oh” to handle the details. “Little
Oh,” who had never wanted an agreement to begin with, then began to
object to every detail in it, including those items on which we had been in
agreement from the start. He insisted on a higher price, objected to quality-
control testing as an infringement on “national pride,” and refused to agree
to the delivery timetable we had earlier established. He also insisted on be-
ing paid at least half the contract value in advance, with that amount to be
deposited in a private account in China. We were clearly back to square one,
and the ceremony was abruptly cancelled.