Genius Grandson Of The Loan Shark King

In international politics, the weight of one’s words ultimately depends on national power.

For South Korea and North Korea to reject an agreement reached by the United States, China, and Russia would have carried an enormous political burden.

Kim Jongil might have taken a hardline stance—but Jang Songthaek was different.

Having seized power by ousting Kim Jongil, Jang Songthaek needed to show concrete results.

“In China’s case, they say that once this secret Singapore meeting ends, they’ll immediately begin providing free food and oil aid. As for the United States, because of congressional approval and various political considerations, they’ll start aid as soon as the inter-Korean summit concludes and the five-party talks are held, and sanctions on the North are lifted. Besides that...”

To calm his irritation, I explained the immediate benefits this agreement would bring.

There were only two choices: pride, or practical gain.

—......I understand. Let’s proceed that way. I’ll inform the Director of the General Political Bureau myself.

Fortunately, Jang Songthaek chose practicality.

“You made a wise decision. Next time, we’ll build more strength and raise your voice at the table. In any case, right now, North Korea is the one in the weaker position.”

—Indeed.

“Twenty years from now—no, even ten years from now—North Korea’s standing will be different. Let’s make it that way together, Chairman.”

Jang Songthaek let out a soft chuckle and replied at once.

—Thank you, President Kim. But is it really all right to hand over the development of the Sinuiju and Rason special economic zones to China and Russia? Shouldn’t you be the one doing it?

At his words, a smile naturally formed on my lips.

Whether he was worrying about me, or wary of China and Russia, I couldn’t tell.

“Thank you for your concern. I more or less anticipated this, so it’s not a problem.”

—I see. As it happens, Chief of Staff Medvedev personally visited Pyongyang and brought up Rason. Much like you, he proposed leasing it out and canceling North Korea’s debt to Russia in return.

So that was why Medvedev had gone to Pyongyang.

I’d roughly expected it, but Russia had moved faster than China.

Then again, Russia had the most intelligence on North Korea’s sudden upheaval, so they must have prepared in advance.

“I’m fine with it. I have plenty of other projects to work on. For the sake of the future, it’s better to accommodate their demands and move on.”

—Well, if you say it’s fine, then so be it. I’ll contact the Director of the General Political Bureau. Please explain things properly to the South’s negotiating team.

“I will.”

The call with Jang Songthaek ended.

About an hour later, Myungsoo staggered into the hotel room, thoroughly drunk.

“Hey, brother!”

Seeing him greet me playfully, clearly having had quite a bit to drink, I shook my head and snapped at him.

“Just how much did you drink? Some of us have been working all day.”

Myungsoo laughed as he answered, the strong smell of alcohol wafting out every time he opened his mouth.

“Hey! It’s not like I drank because I wanted to. That guy Choi Ryonghae is a real booze hound. Seriously, even I’ve been drinking a lot since getting into politics, right? But that guy just keeps pouring it back like a bottomless pit. I don’t know how his liver survives. Anyway, isn’t this all the result of sacrificing my body for inter-Korean peace?”

What a load of nonsense. Ever since getting into politics, he’d turned into a real snake.

His shameless attitude left me dumbfounded, and I let out a hollow laugh.

Manager Ma handed Myungsoo a bottle of cold water.

“Thanks, Manager. I knew you were the best. Unlike Muhyuk here, who just nags all the time...”

Without replying, Manager Ma bowed his head and left the room.

“Hey, Manager Ma really never changes—still so taciturn. Right?”

Myungsoo muttered as he collapsed onto the sofa.

Probably thanks to being pleasantly drunk, he wobbled even after sitting down.

“He’s always the same. That’s why I like him.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the same, you idiot.”

Myungsoo opened the bottle of water Manager Ma had given him, poured about half of it into his mouth, then set it down.

“Ah, I feel alive again. So what’s going on? What was so urgent that you called me up here?”

I told him everything that had happened in today’s negotiations with the three countries, from morning until night. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

By the time I finished explaining, Myungsoo’s expression had changed countless times.

As if parched, he kept drinking water, and the bottle was soon empty.

“That’s how it is. So you can convey it to the South Korean negotiating team as is and have them accept it.”

“So it really got settled like this? Then what the hell have I been doing all this time? This is insane.”

Sounding drained, Myungsoo let out a hollow laugh and crushed the empty bottle in his hand.

“Isn’t this good? Now all that’s left is to agree on the agenda at the inter-Korean summit.”

“That may be so, but isn’t this a bit much? Why do other countries get to decide matters between our country and North Korea on their own? And reducing U.S. forces stationed in Korea? Unilaterally, without even negotiating with us?”

Myungsoo muttered with a deeply furrowed brow.

Reducing U.S. forces stationed in Korea was bound to be a burden for South Korea.

“Because China and Russia demanded it. The U.S. forces have been maintained as they are because of North Korea, but the moment North Korea gives up nuclear weapons and a peaceful atmosphere forms, U.S. troops stationed in Korea become a very real threat to China.”

“Even so, things like this should have been discussed and agreed upon with our government beforehand. This just gives the opposition ammunition to attack.”

“Well, I don’t know. When there are progressive party lawmakers openly calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, would they really attack over this?”

“Ah, I don’t know.”

Pressing his temples as if his head hurt, Myungsoo groaned.

“Got a headache? Want some medicine?”

“No. I’ve been drinking—what good would headache pills do? Can’t we get the reduction of U.S. forces reversed? This is seriously a huge political burden.”

I understood his reaction, but the agreement had already been made.

Reversing it would be difficult.

“They’re not withdrawing the troops, just reducing them. What’s so burdensome about that?”

“Easy for you to say! Our country relies heavily on U.S. forces. The moment they’re reduced, we’ll have to divert funds elsewhere into defense spending.”

“Even so, it’ll probably be hard. The U.S. and China clashed fiercely over this before reaching an agreement.”

I went into more detail about what had been said at the negotiating table.

From the issue of troop withdrawal to the nuclear redeployment card the U.S. side had put forward in response—I told him everything.

“Wow... insane... Nuclear redeployment even came up? That’s crazy.”

Myungsoo exclaimed, his mouth hanging open.

“After intense debate, they settled on reducing U.S. forces stationed in Korea. In exchange, they agreed to actively support the inter-Korean summit and to lift sanctions immediately after it concludes. China will start providing food aid and oil for energy first. Then South Korea can match that support. So it’ll be hard to scrap the agreement. The U.S. will push it through as well. If South Korea opposes it and the deal falls apart, America will once again tilt toward the neocons’ arguments.”

“Ah, the hardliners? Still, this isn’t something I can decide on my own. I should contact the President.”

I checked the watch on my wrist. It was already past midnight.

“Hey, isn’t President Yoon asleep by now?”

At my words, Myungsoo laughed as if it were absurd.

“What are you talking about? People like us don’t have set sleeping hours. How many people do you think have the President’s direct number? If you call that, he’ll know it’s urgent and pick up.”

Whether his confidence was justified or not, it wasn’t long after placing the call that Myungsoo spoke.

“Mr. President. This is Lee Myungsoo.”

“Put it on speaker.”

Nodding, Myungsoo switched to speakerphone and placed the phone on the table.

—Hmm, what time is it now?

“It’s just past twelve. I apologize for calling so late.”

—No, it’s fine. Just a moment.

Perhaps he’d been woken from sleep—Yoon Changho’s voice sounded hoarse.

There was a brief rustling sound, then Yoon Changho spoke again.

—Assemblyman Lee, what’s going on at this hour? Did something go wrong in the negotiations? I said it was fine to make some concessions. Didn’t I give you that discretion?

“Yes. But I felt this wasn’t something I could decide on my own, so I contacted you.”

—What is it? Go on.

Myungsoo relayed everything he’d heard from me to Yoon Changho.

—Hmm...

As he listened, Yoon Changho let out occasional sighs. When he heard that it would be difficult to change, he even sighed deeply.

“That’s why I called.”

—Were you at the negotiation table as well?

“No. Muhyuk attended.”

—President Kim? Is he with you right now?

“Yes. He’s listening with us on speaker.”

Yoon Changho addressed me.

—President Kim.

“Yes, Mr. President.”

—What exactly happened? How did the issue of reducing U.S. forces stationed in Korea come up in the context of the inter-Korean summit?

“It was a demand from the Chinese side.”

—I know that much from Assemblyman Lee. Explain it in more detail.

At Yoon Changho’s urging, I decided to give a more detailed account.

“The Chinese side leveraged North Korea’s intention to lift sanctions and pursue reform and opening. What they wanted in return was the withdrawal of U.S. forces stationed in Korea, which they view as a threat. They argued that if the real threat—North Korea’s nuclear program—is eliminated and the North moves toward openness, maintaining U.S. troops in the South could be interpreted as an intention to keep tensions alive.”

—Yes, I can see how that interpretation could be made. So the U.S. pulled out the nuclear redeployment card, and China threatened to hand nuclear weapons to North Korea?

“Yes, that’s correct. In the end, Kissinger stepped in to mediate.”

At the name Kissinger, Yoon Changho reacted.

—Kissinger? The Kissinger I know? Are you saying Kissinger is in Singapore right now?

“Yes. I heard you invited him. He stopped by Singapore beforehand, didn’t he? Or am I mistaken?”

—Good heavens... That man must have led those negotiations. I invited Kissinger to Korea as well to receive diplomatic advice.

“He emphasized that his visit before coming to Korea was unofficial. For backchannel negotiations. It seemed likely he came because of China. He’s quite close to China, and he’s also someone who can ease pressure from the neocons. He was the right choice. Thanks to that, we reached an agreement quickly.”

Without Kissinger, reaching an agreement amid all the push and pull would have been much harder.

I was skilled at negotiations involving threats and exploiting weaknesses—but diplomatic methods weren’t my forte.

—Hmm. I understand. Still, reducing U.S. forces stationed in Korea... Conservative lawmakers might raise hell over this.

“Even so, I don’t think reversal is possible. The U.S. wants it too. Haven’t they been arguing for reducing U.S. forces for a long time? They shelved the issue while deploying troops to Iraq, but still.”

The reduction of U.S. forces and the issue of defense cost-sharing had always been points of disagreement between South Korea and the United States.

Within the U.S., the cost of stationing troops overseas was a constant source of controversy.

For those and other political reasons, whenever a U.S.–Korea summit was held, the issue of U.S. forces stationed in Korea was always raised.

—Yes. It came up during this recent visit to the U.S. as well.

“So you’ll have to accept it. Aside from that, this agreement contains nothing bad for Korea. In fact, it’s a favorable deal. If China preemptively supports North Korea, the government gains justification to provide free aid as well. It’ll be much easier to quell opposition sentiment. And while China and Russia focus on developing Sinuiju and Rason, we can negotiate with North Korea to secure most of the projects for South Korea. Economically, there’s nothing to lose.”

Yoon Changho remained silent, clearly still pondering.

“You know as well as I do, Mr. President. There’s no business as profitable as infrastructure. Daehyeon became such a massive conglomerate precisely because it successfully carried out countless construction projects in the Middle East. We can’t just let other countries reap the fruits we struggled to obtain. I’ll take the lead in distributing these projects among domestic companies. Projects of this scale can ultimately be framed as government achievements.”

—Hoo... Tomorrow morning is # Nоvеlight # going to be scary. Of course my aides will oppose this. But all right. Let’s proceed with the agreement. However, make sure to convey that during this summit, there must be some level of agreement on ending the war. If China and the U.S. reach a certain understanding, won’t things be easier after that?

At Yoon Changho’s words, I couldn’t help but ask back,

“Ending the war?”

—Yes. We can’t maintain an armistice forever, can we? If North and South are to move freely, a declaration ending the war is inevitable. Even if it’s difficult right now, we need at least some consent from the parties involved.

So that’s it. Yoon Changho was drawing a much bigger picture than I’d expected.

“Myungsoo will handle that just fine.”

—Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t stay out of this.

“We’ll discuss that separately later at the Blue House. For now, it’s better to let Myungsoo handle the negotiations.”

—Hoo... All right. Then come straight to the Blue House as soon as you enter Korea. Assemblyman Lee, are you there?

At Yoon Changho’s call, Myungsoo answered.

“Yes, Mr. President. I’m here.”

While Myungsoo continued talking with the President, I stood up and walked over to the window.

When I pulled back the curtain, a full moon shone brightly in the sky. Staring at it, I fell into thought.

An end to the war...