The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 166

166. The Whole Story of the Wiretapping Operation

The Chairman of the National Defense Commission asked,

“Brother-in-law, what are you thinking so hard about? Are you still feeling unwell?”

“Ah, no. I was just thinking about how to respond. The South’s proposal is tougher than expected, but it’s best to accept it, Chairman.”

“Accept it? I don’t think the Soviets will stand still. They gave us nuclear weapons, and we exchanged them for industrial complexes and oil.”

Before the summit, the agenda was explained to the Soviet Union in advance to seek their understanding.

Of course, the Soviets were against it.

They raised their voices, saying, ‘We deployed nuclear weapons, and now you’re negotiating to dismantle them?’

The North’s Foreign Minister explained that it was not a nuclear abandonment but a negotiation to buy time to undermine sanctions, and the summit was barely achieved.

But if half of them are scrapped, it would only mean deceiving the Soviet Union.

However, for Jang Seong-taek, diplomacy with the Soviet Union was not the issue now. His own life was more precious.

“Ahem, Chairman, sovereign diplomacy applies not only to hostile countries but also to allies. The Soviet Union was the first to break its promise. Oil and food did not arrive as promised. Since they broke their promise, we must show our willingness to fulfill only half of our obligations to prevent being taken advantage of in the future. The nuclear weapons are in our hands.”

“Ah, the Soviets broke their promise first! I really have something to say.”

“Even if we scrap half of them, we still have five nuclear warheads left. We still maintain our status as a nuclear power, so we have nothing to lose.”

“Ah, that’s right! I can’t do without you, brother-in-law.”

“…….”

Seeing Kim Pyong-il’s innocent appearance, Jang Seong-taek wondered if he would harm him, but the National Intelligence Service Director’s warning was still unsettling.

‘Hmm, am I being played by the Director of the National Intelligence Service? The truth will be revealed when I return to Pyongyang.’

*

The second summit resumed.

The Chairman of the National Defense Commission said with a bright expression,

“Although the staff opposed it, I decided to make a grand concession. We will reduce half of the nuclear warheads and resume the industrial complex.”

“Ah, that’s a bold decision.”

“Instead, it would be better for the working-level officials to discuss the next step-by-step schedule later.”

“I agree. Let’s do it while watching the mutual implementation stages.”

The two shook hands.

*

Press conference.

The two leaders, who entered with bright expressions, stood on the platform.

The Chairman of the National Defense Commission said,

“Since you are the elder, Your Excellency, please read it.”

He didn’t want to leave the words ‘nuclear abandonment,’ even if it was only half, on video with his own mouth.

“Then I will read it.”

The President read the joint statement.

“One, the South and North agree to a phased reduction of nuclear weapons. Two, as a first step, half of the North’s nuclear warheads will be dismantled in a verifiable manner, and the South will resume the Paju Industrial Complex. Three, subsequent phased negotiations will be discussed at the working level.”

Click! Click!

The summit results were telegraphed around the world.

– South and North Korean leaders agree on phased reduction!

– Starting with the reduction of half of the nuclear weapons held!

*

The dinner ended at 9 p.m.

A reporter asked the Presidential Spokesperson,

“Where will the Chairman of the National Defense Commission return to? Will he go by private plane from Seongnam?”

“Perhaps he will go the way he came?”

The reporters who were snubbed upon entry called their headquarters.

“The Chairman of the National Defense Commission is departing from Seongnam!”

Four black sedans with the artificial flag of North Korea emerged from the Presidential Office, escorted by police cars and motorcycles, heading south.

Vroom~

Traffic control was enforced on the quiet street, past the evening commute.

Coverage vehicles followed behind, broadcasting live on the evening news.

“The Chairman of the National Defense Commission, who has just completed the inter-Korean summit, is heading to Seongnam Air Base. This historic agreement is significant in that it goes beyond the US-Soviet nuclear freeze agreement to a nuclear reduction.”

Vroom~

Twenty minutes after the advance team departed, all the reporters at the Presidential Office also withdrew.

At this time, four vehicles emerged from the back door of the Presidential Office.

Escorted by police cars and motorcycles, they headed north.

The Chairman of the National Defense Commission was in this vehicle. To divert attention to Seongnam for security, they shook off the reporters.

The reporters who were stationed outside Seongnam Air Base watched the scene of the empty plane taking off, unaware that it was empty, and broadcast the departure live.

Whoosh~

*

President’s office.

The President loosened his tie and said to the Director of the National Intelligence Service,

“Does it seem to have worked properly?”

“He spoke sternly, but he couldn’t hide his expression. The success of this summit proves it.”

“That’s right. Since he announced a reduction that would provoke criticism from the Soviet Union, it’s clear that Jang Seong-taek’s influence was at play.”

“Now is the time to really watch. The important thing is what decision he will make.”

“Will we be able to find it well?”

“He will probably tear down the ceiling to find it.”

*

Pyongyang, Jang Seong-taek’s office in the Workers’ Party building.

Jang Seong-taek saw off the Chairman of the National Defense Commission and went straight to his office without unpacking, saying he was preparing for the Standing Committee meeting.

In the trunk of the car was a heavy bag of dollars he had received from the Director of the National Intelligence Service.

He locked the office door and turned on the radio, which played Pyongyang broadcasts.

It was mainly a music broadcast for night workers, and a revolutionary song was playing.

He started rummaging through the bookshelves.

He rummaged through the drawers and even crawled under the desk.

He lifted the carpet and searched the ceiling and lights.

There was no sign of a wiretapping device.

Sweating profusely, he slumped into a chair.

“It’s not there… Was it a lie….”

Then the wired telephone on the desk caught his eye.

Carefully, he turned the bottom of the phone with a fountain pen tip instead of a screwdriver and disassembled it.

Click!

He looked inside the disassembled phone.

Again, there was nothing.

“Whew~ Was I deceived?”

Then he saw the flowerpots by the window.

Flowerpots?

He carefully approached and examined the stems of the bird of paradise.

“Ugh!”

He covered his mouth.

A lighter-sized black object was hidden.

It was a waterproof, high-performance Japanese-made wiretap receiver.

His face was covered in beads of sweat.

Damn it! The Director of the National Intelligence Service was telling the truth!

He slumped into a chair.

He shuddered at the thought that the scene of him talking to the Director of the National Intelligence Service and receiving the bag of money would be recorded.

If he touched the wiretapping device, they would know he had noticed, and he might be arrested immediately.

He decided to just leave it alone for now.

He left the office and headed to his residence.

He spent the night worrying about what to do.

*

Pyongyang, Standing Committee meeting.

The Chairman of the National Defense Commission explained the results of the North-South summit to the Standing Committee members, boasting as if he were spitting.

A haggard Jang Seong-taek looked at the Standing Committee members with a dazed expression and thought.

‘There must be someone among them who is watching me and trying to purge me…? I’m like a rabbit surrounded by jackals… Who is the mastermind? I want to smash those faces that are pretending to listen so shamelessly!’

The Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed concern.

“It is undoubtedly a clever move to have nuclear weapons and receive aid from both the Soviet Union and South Korea at the same time, but I am concerned about the Soviet Union’s backlash, Chairman.”

“The Vice-Chairman will explain that. Vice-Chairman!”

“Ah, yes, yes! Did you call me?”

Jang Seong-taek, who had been distracted, hurriedly managed his expression.

“You’ve become unrecognizable after the reshuffle. I’ll send you a dose of herbal medicine.”

“Thank you.”

“Tell the Minister of Foreign Affairs how to explain it to the Soviet Union.”

“Yes.”

Jang Seong-taek gave the Minister of Foreign Affairs the justification.

*

Pyongyang, Soviet Embassy.

The Soviet ambassador was as arrogant as ever.

“You didn’t even mention the reduction at the last briefing! This is deceiving the Soviet Union.”

The North Korean Foreign Minister sweated as he explained the joint statement of the summit to the Soviet ambassador.

“It is not a complete abandonment of nuclear weapons, but only bait to start phased negotiations. It was a pre-emptive measure for trust.”

“To abandon nuclear weapons that were difficult to deploy, are you trying to receive aid from both the Soviet Union and South Korea? Are you turning your back on the Soviet Union?”

“Frankly, the Soviet Union has not given even half of the aid promised while deploying nuclear missiles. It was an inevitable measure for the normalization of North Korea’s economy.”

“Hmm, hmm, I should have notified you that we would replace it with trade, right?”

“Trade and aid are completely different.”

“Are you trying to play word games now?”

“Then are you going to take all the nuclear weapons back to the Soviet Union?”

“What, what?”

“If you take back the nukes, we will have no choice but to restore diplomatic relations with South Korea and China to the state before the nukes.”

In other words, it was a threat to completely resume inter-Korean economic cooperation and shift to pro-China.

It was a hard-line tactic from North Korea that the Soviet Union had no choice but to back down.

North Korea and the Soviet Union agreed to stop further reductions in nuclear weapons and maintain the status quo.

*

President’s office.

The Director of the National Intelligence Service reported.

“Finally, we have received a call from Jang Seong-taek. He wants to meet about the Paju Industrial Complex [a jointly run economic zone between North and South Korea] resumption issue.”

“Hmm, I don’t know if it’s a hasty judgment, but it seems like he’s taken the bait. I have a good feeling.”

“I think so too.”

“Finish it well.”

*

Paju Industrial Complex VIP room.

A haggard Jang Seong-taek said to the Director of the National Intelligence Service,

“Unfortunately, it was true.”

“You found the wiretapping device?”

He nodded.

“To think that the South is the only place where I can confide… Sigh~”

He couldn’t hide his painful expression of realizing reality.

“Director, how can you do this to me, who has devoted myself to the country and dedicated myself to the leader?”

“Originally, power is bloody. There is only one sun in the sky.”

“I was just doing my best as a guardian to uphold the will of the Chairman, but they are trying to purge me….”

“What are you going to do?”

“The future is bleak. Is there a good way?”

“In my opinion, it is like this.”

The Director of the National Intelligence Service proposed a scenario that he had already prepared, as if he had just thought of it.

Jang Seong-taek, whose life was at stake, listened with his eyes wide open, trying not to miss a single word.

*

President’s office.

The President smiled, revealing his gums at the Director of the National Intelligence Service’s report.

“Hahaha! He took the bait properly.”

“That’s right. He won’t even imagine that we planted the wiretapping device.”

It was true that the State Security Department was monitoring Jang Seong-taek, but it was a human intelligence agent recruited from South Korea who had brought the wiretapping device.

He was a working-level employee at the Paju Industrial Complex, and his father had defected to South Korea. They had secretly reunited the father and son at the Paju Industrial Complex.

Since defection was not allowed under the inter-Korean economic cooperation agreement, he voluntarily became an informant for South Korea in order to realize the goal of free inter-Korean travel.

He was receiving reports on the movements of North Korean high-ranking officials through an informant who was also a close aide to Jang Seong-taek.

It was his information that made the final judgment during the Kim Il-sung misreporting incident.

“Did he say anything about defecting?”

“I was so nervous that those words might come out. If he defects, inter-Korean relations will be ruined.”

During Chairman Wang’s time, inter-Korean relations were at their worst when Hwang Jang-yop, the highest-ranking official, defected.

Moreover, if the relative and influential figure of the Chairman of the National Defense Commission chose to go to South Korea, North Korea would have a hysterical fit, and the results of the inter-Korean summit would be in vain.

Therefore, the internal policy was to induce the defection of the royal family to a third country, not South Korea.

“It’s a burden.”

“I took the initiative and guided him well.”

“Very, very good.”