Free Web NovelRi Ulsol answered Kim Jongil’s call.
“General.”
— Marshal Ri Ulsol. It’s me, Kim Jongil.
“Are you all right?”
— And if I’m not?
“Dark rumors are spreading through Pyongyang. I am the one who commands the Guard Command that protects you, General. More than anything, your safety is what matters.”
— Right, right. No one knows Marshal Ri Ulsol’s loyalty better than I do. Jang Songthaek staged a rebellion. I barely made it out alive, you see.
Ri Ulsol bit his lip without realizing it.
‘Did Jang Songthaek fail?’
While Ri Ulsol sank into thought, Kim Jongil continued.
— Marshal Ri Ulsol. You were the Great Leader’s comrade, and you’re my comrade as well. Isn’t that right?
That snapped Ri Ulsol back to his senses.
“My beloved General. I am a man who lives to protect the Great Leader’s family. From the days when the Great Leader was alive until now, I have served as Guard Commander and done my utmost.”
— Right. I may not trust others, but I trust Marshal Ri Ulsol’s loyalty.
At that relaxed tone, Ri Ulsol swallowed hard.
If Jang Songthaek was still alive······ Ri Ulsol already knew he wouldn’t be free of this matter either.
“Chairman Comrade, what happened to Director Jang Songthaek?”
— I didn’t expect a man charged with my protection to show more concern for someone else’s situation than mine.
Ri Ulsol realized his mistake and corrected himself immediately.
“······Are the other members of your family safe?”
— No one’s even injured. Those bastards in the Guard Command suppressed everything. Isn’t that fortunate?
“Yes. It is fortunate.”
— Director Jang Songthaek is alive, but he’s not truly living. I can’t kill him. I can’t waste such a good opportunity, can I? This time, I’ll purge every last reactionary bastard in the party and the military.
Kim Jongil intended to use Jang Songthaek to clean out the party and military figures who opposed him.
Then doesn’t that include me as well? Ri Ulsol clenched his fist.
“······.”
— Why are you silent?
“It’s nothing. I will carry out your orders, General.”
— That’s what I like to hear. Come here at once. We need to discuss follow-up measures, don’t we?
“To the Yeohori guesthouse? That place is used only by your family—”
Kim Jongil cut him off.
— What does that matter right now? I’ve already summoned Cho Myongrok, Director of the General Political Bureau, and all the bastards I can still trust. So Marshal Ri Ulsol, come here immediately. Is there a problem? Or are you harboring other thoughts?
“N-no. Do not doubt my loyalty.”
— Then I’ll be waiting. I told the others to come alone, but for Marshal Ri Ulsol, I’ll understand if you bring one attendant to drive. And······. Do not tell a single person that I am safe.
“······Understood.”
With that, Kim Jongil hung up unilaterally.
Ri Ulsol hurled the dead receiver and spat out curses.
“You two-faced whore’s son. I’m Kim Ilsung’s comrade! Who the hell are you to order me around like that?”
Rage flared across Ri Ulsol’s wrinkled face.
But he regained his composure quickly.
“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange that that son of a bitch Kim Jongil isn’t returning to Pyongyang and is calling people to the Yeohori guesthouse instead.”
After tapping the table with his fingers and sinking into thought, Ri Ulsol abruptly made a call somewhere.
“This is Ri Ulsol.”
— Yes, Marshal.
“Is Cho Myongrok there? I need to meet him urgently.”
— Director Cho Myongrok left in a hurry earlier.
“Did he? Where did he go?”
— I don’t know. He drove himself somewhere without even an attendant.
At the words that Cho Myongrok went out alone, Ri Ulsol narrowed his eyes.
“He left after receiving contact from the General, didn’t he?”
— I cannot answer that.
“I’m Ri Ulsol.”
— Even so, I have no choice, Marshal. You of all people know better than anyone that I cannot respond to questions regarding the General.
“······Fine. I’ll contact you again later.”
The subordinate held his tongue, but Ri Ulsol could infer that Cho Myongrok had received Kim Jongil’s call and left.
After that, Ri Ulsol placed calls all over the place.
But truly, no one could be reached.
“That bastard Kim Jongil’s words sound like the truth.”
If even Kim Jongil’s closest aides couldn’t be contacted, it meant they had moved on Kim Jongil’s orders.
“That bastard Jang Songthaek—why the hell would he start something he couldn’t even finish and make people’s heads ache like this?”
Ri Ulsol fell into dilemma.
He had already received Kim Jongil’s orders. If he didn’t go, then no matter who he was, he would have to put his life on the line.
But moving alone like this also didn’t sit right with him.
Ri Ulsol did not have complete control over the Guard Command under him. They prioritized Kim Jongil’s orders.
Having made up his mind, he called somewhere.
“The General is in danger. Prepare to move the Pyongyang Defense Command forces. I’m going now.”
— Pardon? Orders have already been issued that all units must hold their positions by the General’s command.
At that stubborn reply, Ri Ulsol raised his voice.
“That’s all a trap that bastard Jang Songthaek set up! That whore’s son Jang Songthaek has committed treason!”
— What? Is that true?
“It is. I’m going now. Finish all preparations. We have to go save the General.”
In the end, Ri Ulsol decided to move the military.
After dressing himself in uniform, he stood before the mirror. The figure reflected back at him felt unfamiliar.
Letting out a sigh, Ri Ulsol left the commander’s office with a rigid face.
* * *
“Director Jang Songthaek. We’re hearing that the military in Pyongyang is showing suspicious movement. Do you know anything about this?”
— What? What are you talking about? The only force defending Pyongyang is the Pyongyang Defense Command.
“You still haven’t captured Ri Ulsol, correct?”
A brief silence followed. Then Jang Songthaek’s furious shout came through the line.
— ······That senile old man! At his age!
“Respond quickly for now.”
At that moment, the other side of the receiver grew noisy.
— What did you say? The Pyongyang Defense Command moved? Are you certain? You bastard Park Giseo—!
The call cut off.
I set the phone down and asked Manager Ma,
“Manager, tell me in detail.”
“We received intelligence that the Pyongyang Defense Command forces in Pyongyang have moved. So an all-forces emergency alert has been issued, and everyone is standing by. I couldn’t get the details.”
In situations like this, the Blue House gets information faster than I do.
I picked the phone up again and called Yoon Changho.
“Mr. President, can you talk?”
Instead of an answer, I heard him speaking to someone.
— Let’s take a ten-minute break. I’ll take a call and be right back.
There was a brief commotion. It sounded like Yoon Changho was moving along with it.
A door closed, and then Yoon Changho spoke.
— President Kim.
“Is it true that the Pyongyang Defense Command has moved?”
— It’s information relayed by the Combined Forces Command, so it must be true. The Ministry of National Defense reported the same.
If it came through the Combined Forces Command, it was reliable. As I let out a low hum without meaning to, Yoon Changho asked urgently,
— Did Jang Songthaek fail? Is this a civil war?
“No. Jang Songthaek already has Kim Jongil in his hands. I just spoke with him as well. It seems that man Ri Ulsol moved the military on his own.”
I summarized the situation as I understood it.
— The ROK military’s assessment is that among the North Korean forces, the Pyongyang Defense Command has the best mobility and firepower. If they moved, can Jang Songthaek stop them?
“······They moved without Kim Jongil’s permission.”
— So what? Kim Jongil isn’t exactly in a state where he can issue proper orders right now, is he?
“What is the Combined Forces Command saying?”
— For now, they’ve ordered all branches to maintain full emergency standby. Live ammunition has been issued, and······.
In a heavy voice, Yoon Changho explained the current situation.
After finishing, he asked me with worry in his voice,
— This won’t turn into an actual war, will it?
“······It won’t. Have you spoken with President Bush?”
— No. I don’t even have the headspace for that. I was at the residence, then I ran down into the underground bunker.
“Understood. If you get new information, contact me. I’ll look into it as well.”
— All right. Call me again.
After ending the call, I organized my thoughts.
‘Did the Pyongyang Defense Command move on its own?’
If it moved alone, it could be suppressed more easily than expected.
No matter how modern the Pyongyang Defense Command was among the North Korean forces, without air support it couldn’t do anything.
“Manager, bring me a map of North Korea.”
Manager Ma quickly brought a map.
First, I checked the area around the Yeohori villa.
Below it was the 1st Corps, above it the 7th Corps, and right beside it was the 806 Training Center.
“If we move the 1st Corps and the 7th Corps to face off, and use air power to sortie aircraft from Deoksan Airfield in Hamhung—”
I stared at the map for a long time, predicting how Jang Songthaek would act.
“The problem is······ Ri Ulsol’s position inside the North Korean military is far too solid.”
Ri Ulsol held the rank of Marshal of the Korean People’s Army.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to call him the second most powerful man after Kim Jongil. freewebnøvel.com
That was how strongly his influence weighed on the military.
“This won’t be easy unless Kim Jongil moves personally.”
Everything depended on which generals Jang Songthaek had won over.
Or whether Jang Songthaek could make Kim Jongil move.
But whether that man would cooperate was uncertain.
“So if we’d just stuck to the original plan, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Originally, the plan had been to secure Kim Jongil, return directly to Pyongyang, join hands with Ri Ulsol, and seize control of Pyongyang.
But then Kim Jongil suddenly ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) took charge. It seemed Jang Songthaek had chosen to monopolize power rather than share it with Ri Ulsol.
The old man’s going to die soon anyway—what was he in such a hurry for? To solidify power, he could’ve just held hands for a short time. Instead, he avoided it, and here we are.
At that moment, the phone on the table rang.
I answered quickly.
— President Kim Muhyuk. This is Medvedev.
“Yes. Chief of Staff Medvedev.”
— The nuclear weapons have been recovered safely.
“Congratulations.”
It sounded like they’d loaded the nukes onto the submarine standing by. Then Medvedev spoke in a subtle tone.
— Are we withdrawing the Zaslon unit as is? The situation doesn’t look very good. I received a report that the Pyongyang Defense Command has moved.
As expected, Russia had already grasped it.
“Yes. I just heard.”
— Is it a civil war?
“I don’t know the details yet.”
— What’s happening? Can you explain?
I explained everything I knew to Medvedev.
After listening in silence, Medvedev let out a sigh.
— Haah. Director Jang Songthaek changed the plan abruptly.
“Yes. So Ri Ulsol had no choice but to move. If Jang Songthaek failed, there’s no way he wouldn’t know he was implicated. And the fact that he raised the military instead of answering Kim Jongil’s summons means he’s already inferred what’s going on.”
— That’s right. Whether it succeeded or failed, he would’ve done that. Ri Ulsol probably believed he could remove Jang Songthaek whenever he wanted.
This is why you can’t just say you trust someone and leave them alone.
I pressed my throbbing head and let out a sigh. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
“That’s probably it. He had no other choice. If Jang Songthaek had contacted him directly, the two of them would’ve held hands—at least for now—to stabilize things while grabbing power. But Kim Jongil summoned him. Of course Ri Ulsol wouldn’t want to walk alone into a tiger’s mouth.”
— So what do you intend to do?
There was nothing I could do here.
Move the U.S.? Then China would move immediately. And once that happened, Russia would move too.
— Should we intervene? If you want, President Kim Muhyuk, we can move immediately. The Eastern Military District and the Pacific Fleet are already on standby by the President’s order.
Russia intervening? I stopped him urgently.
“Absolutely not. The moment Russian forces intervene, the U.S. and China will intervene as well.”
I couldn’t care less if North Korea descended into civil war.
But I had to prevent the Korean Peninsula from becoming a battlefield.
“Pass this to the President. Tell him not to move the military first—under any circumstances. Tell him I’m asking as a friend.”
