George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 223

< Episode 222 >

“How are you going to take responsibility for this situation!”

Their expectation was that the people would scatter in the face of overwhelming firepower. And that the scattered people would clash with small South Korean forces, and the central army and defense forces would suppress the people. But now, the very first step has gone wrong.

“Everyone, calm down. Helicopters are ready. There are enough helicopters to get to South Korea. There are plenty of helicopters, so unless there’s a major problem, everyone can evacuate within about 10 hours!”

“Are you saying we should defect to South Korea now?”

“Then are you saying we should just sit here and die?”

Isn’t life all about timing? If they defect now, the only status they’ll be able to enjoy is that of ordinary citizens. They won’t be able to play in the political arena. There’s no political scene as treacherous as North Korea’s. A person who was fine today could be found dead for political reasons tomorrow.

Other countries might disguise it as suicide or assassination, but here, they mobilize cameras to broadcast public executions live. Right now, they’re united by the single goal of selling out the country to live well, but even the Communist Party is divided into several political factions, led by that damn General.

“That’s not it! I’m saying there are other ways!”

“Is that other way running away?”

In an emergency situation, internal strife is inevitable. Opinions were largely divided into three.

“No, we have to live first! Everything you’re saying is a self-defeating move! A self-defeating move!”

These were the people for whom life was most important. Most of these people either didn’t have much wealth, or they no longer had anything to lose in North Korea. Or they had little attachment to the current political scene and were ambitious enough to think they could rise again on their own. It would be sad to lose their wealth or social standing, but couldn’t they just rebuild their foundations?

However, these people were only a small minority. What they were trying to do was like activating the emergency ejection system of a fighter jet before engaging in combat, fearing being shot down by the enemy. In other words, to others, it seemed like they were trying to run away without even trying properly.

“A self-defeating move? We can’t end it like this. We have troops. We can defend it sufficiently!”

Most of the people who argued this were military officials. Due to the nature of unification being led by South Korea, they would no longer be able to serve in the military, but they still had a soldier’s pride. You might ask what pride is there when the military under the leadership of the United States and South Korea has been completely dismantled, but this elite force was the last vestige of pride they had cultivated.

“If we mobilize the air force to bomb them now, we can stop them! The air force is still intact even after our military was dismantled, so if we just give the order, they’ll wipe them out cleanly!”

This was true. Most of the air force had been dismantled, but due to intense negotiations, most of the fighter jets were scheduled to be sold to Africa at bargain prices. They had barely managed to prevent the fighter jets from being burned with napalm under the guise of securing a budget, which was an achievement of the administration, which was more focused on performance than the military generals.

“Are you saying we should bomb Pyongyang now? What kind of nonsense is that? Didn’t you hear that it’s a self-defeating move? If we actually bomb them, then it’s entirely our responsibility. In other words, we’ll never get another chance!”

“Even if the rioters come in and Pyongyang is burned to the ground, what difference does it make if we burn it? It’s just a matter of order, isn’t it? Isn’t it just the difference between the chicken and the egg? In other words, it’s just the difference between being stabbed to death here or dying peacefully of old age.”

“Still, how can you say we should bomb Pyongyang?”

Just as Seoul is the pride of South Korea, Pyongyang was the pride of North Korea. It had been excavated during the Japanese colonial period and damaged during the Korean War, but it was still a treasure trove of cultural assets. Koreans have at least a sliver of patriotism, so it was uncomfortable, but wouldn’t their own lives be more important than that?

“Crazy. Everyone’s gone crazy. Maybe it would be better to get help from the South Korean army or the US military stationed in Nampo now.”

These were relatively conscientious people. Even if they were conscientious, it was only because they were afraid of no longer being able to take responsibility for a situation that was completely out of their hands, which stimulated their human side. To them, fear came first, and humanity was a byproduct of fear.

In other words, they were entering ‘responsibility evasion’ mode. When humans face a situation beyond their control, they tend to shift responsibility to others. This was true of everyone from one-year-old children to seasoned political veterans.

Since they couldn’t handle it anymore, they were trying to pass the situation on to someone more capable. Usually, they would pass it on to someone easy to deal with, but in this case, it was a bit unusual because there was a clear answer depending on how you looked at it.

In other words, to protect their authority and wealth, they had to defend Pyongyang. Relying on others at this point could not be a definite answer, and this was a conservative opinion and tradition within the North Korean political scene. And at the same time, these people were the majority.

Conversely, those who could give up their current wealth and glory could also abandon Pyongyang, which was the foundation of their wealth. In this case, life was more important to them. Their own lives were more important than their wealth or even their families. These people needed a strong pillar to lean on. For example, the Cheong Wa Dae [South Korean equivalent of the White House, the presidential residence] line, which had become the trend. In this case, the US military or the South Korean army could be the answer.

The defense of Pyongyang consisted of three stages. In the past, there were other strategies, but as the military was completely reorganized, the defense strategy was also changed to the point where the paradigm itself changed. The changed strategy was no exaggeration to say it was earth-shattering, but it was not yet known whether it was positive or negative.

However, considering that they were currently defending well, they could put more weight on the positive. In fact, even if it was called a stage, it was not like there was a clear line physically like a trench in the very early stages of the war, and it was closer to unlocking a lock depending on the severity of the situation.

First of all, they were currently using conventional weapons. They were blocking them with assault rifles and tanks, but it was impossible to not be pushed back completely in a muddy urban warfare situation. The fact that the organization was not completely solidified was also quite effective for the people.

The strategy itself was like pottery before it went into the kiln, so it could be flexible, but the problem was that it was not solid. What the military overlooked was the existence of underground facilities. Specifically, the sewers. It wasn’t that they didn’t block the sewers. It was just that they couldn’t withstand the overwhelming amount and were breached. Squads or platoons fighting in urban warfare were surrounded from the front and rear and annihilated, and it was a vicious cycle.

The command could use the next stage when they judged that they were being pushed back beyond a certain point. This was the Pyongyang bombing through the air force that was being discussed within the Party. In fact, the moment this stage was taken out, it was no exaggeration to say it was over. ‘You die, I die.’ It was nothing more or less than that.

However, there was still a final stage left. When it was judged that Pyongyang could not be defended even by bombing, they would release biochemical weapons on a large scale with the intention of mutual destruction. If it was the original doctrine, there was virtually no air supremacy from the start. Therefore, this was a newly created defense strategy to somehow protect Pyongyang at all costs.

“How are we supposed to stop this?”

So, this was a defense strategy premised on ending everything in the first stage. From the next stage onwards, it was not defense but just retaliation. They had never even imagined that this would happen. Especially since unification was planned for the near future.

“Hasn’t the Party given permission?”

Even so, if they bombed, there was still hope. Although it was retaliatory, it was only retaliatory from the Party’s point of view, and the soldiers did not want to die at all costs, even if it meant consuming Pyongyang. The air force was already prepared and flying in the sky on the premise of bombing.

“We are pilots, living on the land and in the sky.”

The fighter pilots circled Pyongyang and looked at the gray city with black smoke rising. The numerous gunshots that they had never heard in Pyongyang before made them feel complicated.

“Even if there is no friendly home here, we cannot live without leaving the sky.”

The air force that took off sang a military song once, but stopped at one verse and could not continue to the next verse.

“Take off. The take-off order is given, flying high into the blue sky···.”

Wasn’t the air force supposed to be the shield of the sky that protects the country? Since when did they become a military branch that burns Pyongyang according to the Party’s orders? Of course, the virtue of a soldier is to carry out the Party’s orders, but as a human being before a soldier, is this even a plausible thing to do?

What comforted them was that the people of Pyongyang had already entered the air-raid shelters, so even if they bombed all day long, they would not die from the bombs they dropped. Of course, the entrance to the air-raid shelter could be blocked, but what was certain was that whether the pilots felt guilty or not, if the Party gave the order, they would immediately pour a massive amount of bombs on the ground like rain from the bombers.

However, the Party, which should have given the order, dragged it out as much as possible. They sometimes engaged in fierce physical fights, as if they were looking at the South Korean government, to win what they wanted. And finally, a conclusion was reached. In fact, it was more accurate to say it was an interim settlement rather than a conclusion, but anyway, since there was no next time, this was the ‘conclusion’ for now.

The conclusion was too obvious and simple: those who would run away would run away, and those who would stay would stay. It was even absurd why they hadn’t done this sooner, but this was based on their social status.

Anyway, those who were running away were running away, and those who were staying were divided on whether to call the tigers or the wolves. The tigers were the US military, and the wolves were the South Korean army.

And regardless of their opinions, the South Korean and US military began to move.

“Mr. President. Is this really true?”

“If we leave it as it is, only a terrible ending will remain for either side. I don’t want to see that.”

The presidents of South Korea and the United States made a decision and agreed that they could not leave North Korea as it was.