Free Web NovelAfter returning to the hotel, I had a simple meal and rested.
It wasn’t until evening that Myungsoo came to my room.
Grumbling the whole time, Myungsoo spent a long while explaining his meeting with Jang Songthaek, and I listened to his story with a smile.
“Really? Jang Songthaek said that?”
Myungsoo nodded vigorously and complained.
“A summit in Seoul? Sure, that’s fine. All of that is fine. But the Kaesong Industrial Complex isn’t something our government can decide on its own, right? And yet he keeps insisting.”
Jang Songthaek had spent decades as Kim Jongil’s second-in-command, immersed in politics.
In politics, you give one thing to gain another.
That was why he was making such demands boldly, even though he knew they were unreasonable.
“Then should I meet Jang Songthaek and ask him to postpone the Kaesong Industrial Complex? We hold the inter-Korean talks first, and after that—”
Before I could even finish, Myungsoo shook his head.
“No. I can’t keep relying on you. And do you think Jang Songthaek made that proposal without knowing that you and I are friends? He already knows. That’s why he deliberately excluded you and talked to me separately. And then you step in to clean it up? That would just make me look like an idiot. Forget it. I’ll handle it myself. I’ll try to persuade the United States somehow.”
Seeing how seasoned he had become made me feel oddly proud.
As I looked at Myungsoo with satisfaction, he frowned.
“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
“No, it’s just that seeing you try to handle things on your own makes me proud. Lee Myungsoo has really grown up.”
“Bullshit. My head’s about to split from all this stress.”
Pouting, Myungsoo picked up a glass of water. He drained it in one go and set the glass down with a clink.
I asked him, since he looked deep in thought.
“What are you so worried about? The opposition doesn’t really have any reason to oppose this, do they?”
“That’s true. They don’t have a reason.”
The Kaesong Industrial Complex had been a policy pushed by the previous administration.
Toward the end of that administration, inter-Korean relations suddenly froze and everything came to a halt, but regardless, the Kaesong project had been a policy championed by the Progressive Party.
The opposition had no reason to oppose it.
“But politics doesn’t always work that way. They might oppose it just for the sake of opposing.”
A bitter smile briefly crossed Myungsoo’s face.
As if he didn’t want to dwell on it any longer, Myungsoo subtly changed the subject.
“Oh, right. Didn’t you say you were going to meet Chairman Kim Jongil? How did it go? Is he still alive and well? Though I doubt his life feels much like living.”
“Surprisingly, he was calm. I thought he’d be dreaming of revenge, but instead, his love for his family was stronger than I expected.”
“Really? That’s surprising. I always thought he was a man without blood or tears, but I guess he has that side too.”
“I was surprised too. I don’t think we need to worry too much about North Korea anymore. You can move accordingly.”
Myungsoo nodded and checked the time, then frowned.
“Why does one thing after another keep happening? I have to keep working while eating with both our delegation and their negotiating team. What about you—what are you going to do now?” freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“I need to meet Vice Chairman Jang Songthaek.”
“Don’t even bring up the Kaesong Industrial Complex. I’ll handle that myself. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll ask you for help.”
After emphasizing that to the very end, Myungsoo stood up.
“I’m heading out. See you later.”
“Yeah, see you in a bit.”
Myungsoo waved and left. A short while later, I stood up as well.
When I entered through the front door, Jang Songthaek was the first to greet me.
“Welcome, Chairman Kim Muhyuk.”
I lightly shook the hand he offered with a genial smile.
“I finally make it to Pyongyang, and it’s hard to even see your face. I feel bad about that.”
“Haha. I know you’re a busy man, Chairman Kim. Please, come in.”
Surprisingly, his home was modest compared to his office. Without giving me time to look around, Jang Songthaek led me straight to the dining room.
“Please, have a seat.”
The table was set with dishes that clearly showed a lot of care had gone into them.
As I sat where he indicated, I glanced around.
“Do you live alone?”
“No. I deliberately told everyone to leave.”
That explained the odd feeling. It seemed he had sent everyone away to speak with me in private.
“Please eat. This was prepared personally by the chef who used to be in charge of Chairman Kim’s meals. It should be quite good.”
So Kim Jongil’s personal chef had already attached himself to Jang Songthaek.
Watching him erase Kim Jongil’s traces one by one was rather amusing.
After a brief distraction, I picked up my chopsticks and took the sushi right in front of me.
Chewing the sushi as the sturgeon roe popped in my mouth, I smiled.
‘It really is good. He says he’s doing this for the people, yet he enjoys such luxury. No matter how I think about it, it’s laughable.’
Pouring cognac into my glass, Jang Songthaek asked,
“How is it?”
“It’s delicious. The balance of sweetness and saltiness really whets the appetite.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste. That was Chairman Kim’s favorite sushi. Of course, it’s one of my favorites as well.”
Cracking a joke, Jang Songthaek raised his glass with a smile.
“Now, let’s have a drink.”
We lightly clinked glasses and drank the cognac.
It was a liquor with excellent depth of flavor. I rolled the glass, savoring the taste.
“It’s a fine cognac.”
“It’s one of my favorites. I’m glad you’re satisfied as well.”
Jang Songthaek echoed with a smile. What was he trying to say, going to such lengths?
I set my glass down and picked up a piece of food.
After chewing and swallowing, I looked at Jang Songthaek.
“I heard you spoke with the special envoy sent by the South Korean government.”
Jang Songthaek, who had been smiling all along, flinched slightly.
Myungsoo had told me not to mention the Kaesong Industrial Complex, but things had to be used when necessary.
“I heard you suggested building the Kaesong Industrial Complex quickly?”
“Chairman Kim Muhyuk, that’s—”
I had no desire to dirty my ears with pointless excuses. I raised my hand to stop him.
“I’m not here to place blame. Negotiating with the South Korean government is your prerogative, Vice Chairman. All that’s needed is for Joongwoo Construction—the company I own—to be assigned that joint project with the South. I don’t care when construction begins.”
Jang Songthaek emptied his glass with a restless look and set it down.
Seeing that, my smile grew even deeper.
“For me, Nampo City is more important than the Kaesong Industrial Complex. So have you given it some thought?”
Jang Songthaek, fiddling with his cutlery, let out a deep sigh and answered.
“There was quite a lot of opposition.”
“Is that so?”
Strong opposition to something Jang Songthaek wanted to do?
That would have been unimaginable when Kim Jongil held power. Anyone opposing it back then would have been purged.
“After holding the Party Congress, we plan to process all agendas. We’ve agreed to designate several regions—including Nampo City—as special economic zones, granting free entry and exit along with various benefits.”
“Several places at once?”
“Yes. To develop the economy. At present, all we really have is the people’s labor and mineral resources that haven’t yet been developed.”
After enduring the Arduous March, North Korea’s economy had been completely devastated.
The current reality was that they had to rebuild a shattered economy with whatever resources they had.
“After designating multiple regions as special economic zones, we’ll attract foreign capital. Of course, we’ll impose the condition that our people be employed first.”
For quite some time, Jang Songthaek explained to me how the special economic zones would be operated.
“I understand what you mean. So are you giving me Nampo City or not?”
“Dreamhigh will be given the development rights to Nampo City.”
At last, a clear answer. But there was still something I needed to hear.
“When?” fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
“It should be possible within this year. In return, please employ our people. And we’d like Dreamhigh to take full responsibility for building all infrastructure in Nampo City.”
“That goes without saying. We’ll invest in the basic infrastructure. But you should understand that we will also retain operating rights to those facilities. The North Korean government must not try to seize them by force.”
“I can promise that. As long as I’m in this position, that promise will be kept without exception.”
Not the North Korean government, but as long as he held power, the promise would be honored.
In other words, it was another way of asking me to help ensure he retained power for a long time.
He really did have a sharp mind for such schemes. Suppressing a chuckle, I said,
“That promise is sufficient.”
Nodding, Jang Songthaek poured more liquor into our glasses and asked,
“By the way, why did you suddenly visit the Russian embassy? Did Chairman Kim say something strange?”
“Yes, well. He said a diplomat from the Russian embassy had approached him.”
“What? When? I was under the impression that since the Pyongyang coup, Chairman Kim has even refused to meet the Russian ambassador.”
“That was my understanding as well. But he said it wasn’t the ambassador—it was a second secretary who met him...”
I briefly explained the situation.
After hearing everything, Jang Songthaek let out a hollow laugh.
“If Chairman Kim had accepted that proposal, our plan would have ended before it even began. Even if we had secured Kim Jongil, without internal discontent it wouldn’t have been this easy to seize real power.”
Though Kim Jongil was put forward as a figurehead, everyone at the top knew the truth.
That Jang Songthaek had pushed Kim Jongil aside and taken real power.
All of Kim Jongil’s closest aides had been purged, exiled to provincial farms or factories.
And their places had been filled with Jang Songthaek’s people.
“So did Russia plot something behind our backs?”
At his impatient question, I shook my head.
“No. The Russian government claims to know nothing about it.”
“Then who on earth could make such a proposal to Chairman Kim?”
“I don’t know. There are forces I can speculate about, but nothing certain.”
“You have a suspected party?”
When I didn’t answer and simply lifted my glass, Jang Songthaek pressed again.
“Who could it possibly be? A force capable of overturning something agreed upon by the United States, Russia, and even China.”
“I tend not to speak on things that aren’t certain... Since Russia said they’ll look into it, why not wait and see?”
Frowning, Jang Songthaek said,
“There must not be another attempt to approach Chairman Kim.”
“That’s for you to prevent. Can I stop it? You decided to keep Kim Jongil alive, and you’re the one protecting him. If you can’t manage that, then kill Kim Jongil.”
“I promised not to kill him. I’m not someone who breaks promises lightly.”
“Then there’s nothing for you to worry about. One simply takes responsibility for one’s own actions.”
His insistence on # Nоvеlight # keeping promises made his intentions transparently clear, which was rather amusing.
He wanted to show that he was different from Kim Jongil.
“From what I saw, Kim Jongil didn’t seem to harbor any desire to reclaim power. His affection for his family was remarkable. He won’t take actions that gamble with their lives.”
“Chairman Kim cherishes his family deeply. Otherwise, would he have covered up every incident caused by my wife, Kim Kyonghui?”
I nodded. Come to think of it, what had happened to Kim Kyonghui?
“So how are things with your wife now? I understand your relationship hasn’t been very good. And after driving out her own brother, her feelings must be even worse.”
Perhaps reminded of Kim Kyonghui, Jang Songthaek smacked his lips bitterly.
“Yes, well... We’ve been separated for a long time. For now, she’s under house arrest.”
It was well known even in the South that Jang Songthaek and Kim Kyonghui had a bad relationship.
Even in official settings, she would openly ignore him, look down on him, and hurl insults.
“Are you planning to divorce?”
With a bitter smile, Jang Songthaek shook his head.
“No. I can’t do that, if only for our daughter’s sake. I’m planning to send her to where our daughter is. Living together there, perhaps she’ll calm down.”
“Ah, you do have a daughter. Her name was... Jang Geumsong, wasn’t it? Studying abroad in France, if I recall.”
Jang Songthaek’s face hardened instantly. Jang Geumsong was his weakness.
He was so attached to his daughter that he had even entered Norway on a fake passport just to see her.
In case Jang Songthaek entertained other ideas, I had been monitoring Jang Geumsong’s every move.
“...How do you know that, Chairman Kim?”
Originally, Jang Geumsong’s name only became known in South Korea after her suicide.
That was how thoroughly Jang Songthaek had concealed her identity.
I raised one corner of my mouth in a smile and replied,
“Shouldn’t I know everything about my partner? I know quite a lot about you, Vice Chairman.”
