The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 203

203. Unification Overnight

The President began to speak.

“Here, Chairman Jang Song-taek, the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is in attendance. Leaders from both nations, along with key government officials, have gathered to discuss the future of our people tirelessly for the past three days, and we have finally reached an agreement.”

Reporters, with their sharp instincts, were already guessing.

“Could it be that the two Koreas…”

The President confirmed their suspicions.

“The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the two Koreas, have reached a dramatic agreement to unite!”

Unification of the two Koreas!

The audience stirred, a wave of excitement washing over them.

They couldn’t believe they were witnessing this historic aspiration come to fruition before their very eyes.

“As a citizen, my heart is filled with emotion as I announce to the world this momentous event for our people, where half a century of tragic division is reunited into one body!”

The reporters, momentarily forgetting their journalistic duties, cheered and applauded.

“Long live the unification of North and South Korea!”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The briefing room transformed into a festive scene.

The President handed the microphone to Jang Song-taek.

Since there were no public briefings to reporters in the North, Jang Song-taek spoke with a hint of unfamiliarity.

“Yes, what the esteemed President Park has said is 100% true. North and South have dramatically agreed to unite. I am also very pleased to deliver this news. The President will now announce the details of the agreement.”

Click! Click!

The camera shutters clicked and flashes went off incessantly.

The President continued.

“A prophet once said that the unification of North and South Korea would come like a thief in the night. We are indeed accomplishing such a thing in the middle of the night.”

Laughter rippled through the audience.

“Yes, the minor administrative legislative procedures and ratification by the National Assembly will be completed in both countries as soon as possible, and any deficiencies will be continuously supplemented. What we are announcing now is the broad framework of principles.”

The President’s announcement was as follows:

– The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea agree to a national union.

– The capital will be Seoul, Republic of Korea.

– The diplomatic and military authority of both countries will be uniformly controlled by the Republic of Korea and will be implemented immediately from this moment.

– To minimize confusion, the integration of the governments of both countries, excluding diplomatic and military authority, and the realization of complete free movement will be implemented in stages over a period of three years or more.

In other words, the core point was that South and North Korea would be completely unified in three years with Seoul as the capital, but the Republic of Korea would immediately exercise military and diplomatic authority.

The relinquishment of diplomatic and military authority essentially meant absorption and unification by South Korea. This could have been kept confidential as a behind-the-scenes agreement, but Jang Song-taek insisted on specifying and announcing the transfer of diplomatic and military authority to influence the imminent Chinese invasion.

Domestic and foreign media urgently wired the news to their countries, featuring photos of the two leaders shaking hands and embracing as their main story.

– The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea dramatically agree to the unification of North and South Korea!

– Midnight declaration of North-South unification!

A somewhat farcical situation unfolded as people abroad learned about it before the people of North and South Korea due to the late-night announcement.

Domestic newspapers competitively printed and distributed special editions on the streets overnight.

Citizens who woke up early in the morning were shocked to see various special editions scattered in their yards.

“What is this? Unification?”

“North and South Korea unified overnight?”

“Isn’t this fake news like the death of the Chairman in the past?”

“Hey, there are special editions from every newspaper. Would they print fake news like this?”

“Turn on the TV! Quick!”

“It will only come on when the broadcast time comes.”

*

Gwanghwamun [a major avenue in Seoul].

From the morning, citizens holding Taegeukgi flags [South Korean flags] gathered at the Presidential Office, and more than 100,000 people gathered at once.

Citizens commuting by bus got off and began to join the crowd.

“Mr. Kim, why are you getting off here? You have to go to work?”

“Is going to work the problem now! This is a historic event! I’m not going to work today!”

The number continued to increase, filling Gwanghwamun, Jongno, Anguk-dong, and Toegye-ro, centered around the Presidential Office.

*

Presidential Office.

The Chief of Staff reported.

“Your Excellency, the number of people welcoming unification has exceeded 500,000, and the city is paralyzed. It seems impossible to disperse them.”

“Hmm, the people’s enthusiasm is great. Instead of forcibly dispersing them, let’s hold a national unification festival today!”

“A festival?”

*

A little later.

The President came out to the front of the office with Jang Song-taek, grabbed the microphone, and gave an impromptu speech to the citizens.

The North Korean staff went to the North to carry out practical tasks, and the core leadership remained in Seoul.

Broadcasting stations broadcast live across the country.

The President addressed the people.

“I formally report to the people that North and South have finally become one!”

Wow~

Wow! Wow!

The wave of Taegeukgi flags and cheers shook the city.

Jang Song-taek, who was next to him, said.

“If I had known the people would like it this much, we should have unified sooner.”

“Hahaha, you’re right.”

In fact, the unification discussions so far had been used by both North and South as a means of maintaining power, and there was no real sincerity.

This unification agreement was also a means chosen by Jang Song-taek himself to survive.

“Chairman, would you like to say a word?”

“No need. I will speak to the people of North Korea when I go to the North.”

He adamantly refused, so the President took the lead.

“To reward the citizens who have voluntarily gathered here to celebrate, even skipping work, I declare today a temporary holiday by presidential authority!”

Wow~ Wow~

The citizens were doubly joyful.

“Our President is so cool!”

“Be President for life!”

All day long, festivals were held across the country.

Broadcasting stations broadcast live special stage performances celebrating unification from Gwanghwamun, Yeouido, and other locations across the country all day long.

The telephone in the President’s office was ringing off the hook with congratulatory calls from leaders of various countries.

Foreign media from all over the world dispatched special coverage teams to Korea.

On the other hand, China’s reaction was the opposite.

*

Deng Xiaoping’s office.

Deng Xiaoping, who had been sleeping, got up after receiving an urgent report from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and put a cigarette in his mouth.

“North-South unification? Is that true?”

“I didn’t believe it at first, so I checked, and I realized it only after seeing President Park and Jang Song-taek reading the North-South agreement together on CNN, Comrade Chairman!”

“Hmph~ That Jang Song-taek has been completely bought off by comprador capitalists! Selling out the country!”

“There was information that he was evacuating to South Korea, but I never dreamed that he went there for a North-South political agreement.”

“Damn it! What will happen if this happens? How should we start the war?”

*

The United States responded quickly.

The US Secretary of Defense briefed the media directly.

“Now that North and South Korea have declared unification and military and diplomatic authority has been immediately granted to South Korea, if China invades the Korean Peninsula, it should be clearly understood that it is a provocation against the US-ROK Allied Forces!”

A reporter asked.

“Does that mean the United States may use nuclear weapons against China, Secretary?”

“We will respond strictly in accordance with the principle of proportionality. Nuclear weapons for nuclear weapons, artillery shells for artillery shells!”

It was a warning message to China.

*

China.

An expanded Standing Committee meeting was held.

The Chairman of the Military Commission said.

“The North-South alliance is just a declaration. Procedures such as National Assembly ratification and national referendum remain. Since we have already completed preparations for a preemptive strike, we can strike before the administrative procedures are completed.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs retorted.

“Look at the North-South agreement here. It says that South Korea will immediately exercise diplomatic and military authority. Do you know what this means?”

“…….”

“It means that if there is a foreign invasion, not only North Korea but also North and South Korea simultaneously, or even the United States, will respond simultaneously. How can we start a war in this state?”

“Even so, North Korea only has three nuclear warheads. If we threaten to launch nuclear warheads at Seoul when South Korea intervenes, they will not be able to intervene rashly.”

The Chairman said.

“So, you’re saying that we won’t preemptively attack with nuclear weapons, but if South Korea intervenes, we’ll fire nuclear weapons?”

“That’s right. We’re aiming the first shot at Seoul, not Gaeseong [a North Korean city near the border]. Then the United States will not be able to use nuclear weapons rashly either.”

“Hmm. It’s a game where the one with the bigger guts wins.”

The content decided by the Chinese leadership that day was leaked to the newspaper as is under the name of ‘anonymous senior Chinese official’.

*

Presidential Office (Rooftop).

The President was meeting and talking with Director Jung.

“Your Excellency, you have done a great job this time!”

“Misfortune follows good fortune, and there are many who want to get a piece of the pie in North-South unification. If North-South unification discussions had taken place in peacetime, the surrounding powers would have put the brakes on it under various pretexts according to their own interests. Jang Song-taek would have been assassinated by the Soviet Union or Communist China.”

“I know very well that you shook the continent and induced unification by taking advantage of the chaos.”

“You’re the only one who knows, Director Jung.”

The President’s inducement of China’s invasion and the division of the continent to trigger a war in Northeast Asia was a grand plan for North-South unification.

In peacetime, North Korea would have opposed it for fear of shaking the hereditary system, and the great powers would have opposed it for fear of shaking the international order they had created, but now, facing the crisis of human extinction in a world war, the unification of the Korean Peninsula was being treated as one of the world’s strategies to prevent escalation.

The President took advantage of this opportunity.

“But the Chinese are now threatening to fire nuclear weapons at Seoul. The Chinese are not giving up the Korean Peninsula easily.”

Director Jung suggested the idea he had been harboring.

“Your Excellency, why don’t we reveal [털어버리시지요, a Korean expression meaning to reveal or disclose something hidden] the nuclear weapons this time?”

“Nuclear weapons? What…”

“It’s about coming out with the secretly developed nuclear weapons.”

“Ah!”

“The United States also dislikes a nuclear war in Northeast Asia, and Japan is well aware that the Japanese archipelago is next in line for a nuclear war, so they will not oppose our possession of nuclear weapons if it is for the sake of deterring war.”

“Hmm, revealing nuclear possession as a deterrent to war… A brinkmanship tactic! That’s a great idea, Director Jung!”

“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, we have sufficient justification for possessing nuclear weapons, so our allies will not be able to oppose it either.”

“Thank you so much for the good suggestion, Director Jung!”

*

National Assembly.

The Speaker of the National Assembly announced the results of the vote.

“I declare that the revised constitution for North-South unification has been passed unanimously by the ruling and opposition parties!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With the constitutional amendment, all that remained was a national referendum.

*

Ministry of National Defense Underground Bunker.

A US-ROK National Security Council meeting attended by the President was being held.

They were in war mode with information that China’s invasion would be carried out within three days.

The President made a major proposal.

“At this point in time, ahead of a nuclear war, the most important strategy is war deterrence. The best thing is to win without fighting, or even just a truce.”

US Forces Korea Commander Alex asked.

“If we can prevent a nuclear war, there is no better option than this. But do you have a strong plan to curb China’s will to invade, Your Excellency?”

“I do.”

“…….”

“South Korea is declaring nuclear possession.”

The audience was temporarily frozen as if struck by lightning.

Commander Alex barely overcame the shock and asked.

“Your Excellency, did you just say nuclear possession?”

“That’s right. Nuclear possession.”

“Are you bluffing that you developed nuclear weapons like North Korea?”

“Of course not. We are coming out with real nuclear weapons.”

“Real nuclear weapons? Has South Korea developed nuclear weapons?”

“Of course. We had already completed development two years ago. We just haven’t announced it.”

“So you were secretly developing nuclear weapons?”

“That’s right!”

“Such an act completely undermines the trust of our allies, Your Excellency!”

“Then are you just going to sit back and watch China wage a nuclear war?”

“Pardon?”

“To be honest, isn’t it because South Korea doesn’t have nuclear weapons that China is looking down on us and threatening to launch nuclear warheads at us every chance they get!”

“……”