The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 76

76. The Era of Regime Change

4,200 North Korean tanks and 2,200 armored vehicles smashed through the DMZ’s barbed wire fences and crossed the South’s military demarcation line, which had been rendered defenseless, advancing rapidly towards Seoul.

Special forces, transported through tunnels and AN-2 aircraft [a Soviet-designed biplane often used for covert operations], infiltrated major cities like Seoul.

The North Korean 200,000-strong special forces seized South Korean airports, where chemical gas had already dissipated, as well as strategic high-rise buildings, key industrial bases, power facilities, government offices, chemical plants, and steel mills in major cities.

Notably, civilian facilities contaminated with the evaporated sarin gas were easily taken with chemical weapons, facing no resistance.

The West Sea 5 Islands, cut off from support, were swiftly occupied by North Korean special forces infiltrating via hovercraft.

Armored units roared through Gwanghwamun intersection in Seoul. Some North Korean troops remained behind, using captured civilians as human shields while pressing their advance south.

Artillery units followed, deploying and unleashing chemical weapons again towards the south, now within their extended range.

Bang-bang-bang-

The central and southern regions were quickly contaminated with sarin gas before it could fully dissipate.

[24:00 South Korea Occupation Complete]

Within 24 hours of the war’s outbreak, with the exception of Jeju Island, South Korea was completely overrun by the North Korean People’s Army.

The number of South Korean casualties reached a staggering 10 million. The remaining survivors were seized as hostages.

Before dawn broke, South Korea unconditionally surrendered.

The General concluded the chilling briefing on this fanatical surprise invasion scenario with a stark declaration:

“South Korea is our granary. Its industrial facilities, food supplies, and resources are all our rightful spoils of war. But what use is a granary if it is destroyed and contaminated with radiation? We must seize it intact to feed our North Korean people. By deploying non-persistent chemical weapons, we can eliminate all living things and seize South Korea’s valuable industrial facilities and resources without damage.”

“That’s it!”

The Chairman clapped, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. In perfect unison, all attendees rose to their feet.

Clap clap clap-

A thunderous applause filled the room.

The Chairman took a few deliberate puffs of his cigarette, basking in the adulation.

Raising a hand, the Chairman silenced the applause.

“Then what about the Americans?”

An immediate hush fell over the room, as if a bucket of ice water had been thrown. The atmosphere shifted, heavy with apprehension.

“How will we defend ourselves? What measures must we take to prevent a counterattack akin to the Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor?”

The silence was so profound that even the sound of swallowing was audible.

The General stepped forward, his voice steady.

“The operation is codenamed ’48 Hours.’ It will take us only 24 hours to fully occupy South Korea. The remaining 24 hours are dedicated to preparing for the inevitable American response.”

“And how will we deal with the Americans?”

“Phase 1: 200,000 special forces will secure key strategic locations throughout South Korea. However, their mission is not to occupy buildings, but to capture the people inside and hold them as prisoners. In essence, we will use the surviving population as human shields.”

The term ‘human shields’ sent a visible ripple of unease through the assembled attendees.

The General used a pointer to indicate several arrows pointing north on the Korean peninsula map at the armistice line.

“Phase 2: We will rapidly move these human shields north.”

The sound of nervous swallowing punctuated the air.

“The surviving population of the South Korean capital area is approximately 5 million. We will move 1 million people north within the first 24 hours, and an additional 3 million within 48 hours. We will relocate them from the Yalu River [border between North Korea and China] to the Imjin River [river in North and South Korea] and disperse them throughout North Korea. We will trap the remaining survivors in each city of South Korea within buildings.”

“In short, it’s a massive hostage operation, using the South Korean people as a living barrier!”

“Precisely. As long as we hold these hostages, the Americans will be unable to launch a full-scale retaliatory attack. If we can neutralize the Americans for just three days, we will accomplish the monumental task of unifying the Korean Peninsula under communism.”

The attendees rose in unison, offering a round of applause that felt strangely mechanical.

The Chairman issued his instructions.

“Raiding the granary! Excellent. And if oil is discovered in South Korea, it will be an exceptionally beneficial operation. In the meantime, we must construct a compelling political justification.”

Among the close aides in attendance were the Chairman’s son, Kim Pyong-il, and his son-in-law, Jang Song-taek.

The North had discovered a new avenue for instigating conflict, one that bypassed the conventional military.

The underlying reason for North Korea’s habitual provocations was to perpetuate its regime.

The justification for maintaining a one-man dictatorship rested on the premise of a ‘wartime emergency situation.’

To perpetually maintain military tension and deprive the people of their fundamental rights, they needed to perpetuate the wartime communist system.

Another significant reason was to secure aid from the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union, as the leading communist nation in the world, provided aid to its satellite communist countries based on their strategic importance.

The Soviet Union prioritized aid based on strategic importance.

In the case of Cuba, which held the highest priority, they sought to spread communism to the American continent and establish nuclear missile bases. To that end, they purchased all of Cuba’s sugar cane and cigars and distributed them cheaply to satellite countries.

The Korean Peninsula was also continuously instigating local conflicts to attract attention and support, attempting to highlight its strategic importance as a conflict zone.

* * *

Gangneung Airbase.

A Korean Air passenger plane (YS-11) bound for Seoul, carrying 51 crew and passengers, was preparing for takeoff.

The crew conducted their final seat checks.

At that moment, the control tower contacted the captain.

– Suspend the takeoff process and await further instructions.

“Understood.”

The crew reported to the captain.

“Captain, all passengers are on board.”

“Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, four men in plain clothes rushed onto the plane through the door that was about to be closed.

The female flight attendant intercepted them.

“Excuse me, boarding is complete. I believe you are on the wrong plane. May I see your tickets?”

“Shh!”

The man flashed a badge from the Central Intelligence Agency from his pocket.

“Be quiet! Which seat belongs to the passenger with the surname Jo?”

The flight attendant consulted the passenger manifest and replied.

“Seat 77A.”

The agents, feigning normalcy, proceeded to the back of the plane.

A male passenger was nervously gazing out the window.

“Don’t move!”

The man attempted to draw a pistol from his pocket, but the agents swiftly subdued him and pinned him to the ground.

The arrested man was a North Korean spy, Jo Chang-hee.

It was the moment he was about to hijack a Korean Air plane to North Korea under the orders of the North.

During Chairman Wang’s time, this very plane had been hijacked to the North.

The day after the hijacking, the two pilots held a press conference, claiming they had ‘voluntarily defected to the North.’

Thanks to the efforts of the government and the international community, only 39 people returned after 65 days, and 12 people were never accounted for.

The intention was to portray the 12 missing individuals as voluntary defectors to the North.

Whenever North Korea instigated a provocation, the South Korean president desired a strong retaliatory response, but the United States, wary of escalation, consistently forbade retaliatory attacks, settling instead for a show of force.

North Korea exploited this pattern, repeating assassinations of key figures and local provocations like annual events.

When Chairman Wang responded with the Pueblo incident [North Korean capture of a US Navy ship] retaliation, they were only provoking South Korea without touching the United States.

In response, the President began to establish a North Korea strategy to dismantle the North Korean leadership while avoiding escalation.

* * *

Namsan [mountain in Seoul, location of intelligence agencies].

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency was meeting with the CIA Asia-Pacific Director.

Director Lence said.

“To solidify the ceasefire situation in Vietnam, we will eliminate North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh.”

Since Korean troops were stationed in Vietnam, the United States always consulted with Korea on its operations in Vietnam.

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency said.

“Wouldn’t assassinating the leader rather stimulate escalation?”

“Assassination techniques have advanced significantly these days, so we won’t resort to open sniping. Sophisticated medicines that induce heart attacks are being developed rapidly. Even if suspicion arises, there will be no concrete evidence, so it will be treated as a natural death.”

As the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union intensified, assassination techniques evolved rapidly, and various methods that left no trace were developed.

Among them, customized medicines that aggravated the target’s underlying disease were preferred.

The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency conveyed the President’s intentions.

“We have established a strategy to retaliate against repeated provocations and dismantle the North’s leadership while preventing escalation. It’s a form of regime change.”

Regime change signifies the forcible replacement of one regime by another.

Regime change can replace a country’s most important leadership system, foreign policy, and military goals without going to war, making it a favorite national operation during the Cold War.

In this process, bribery, assassination, terrorism, and lynching were openly carried out.

Removing Ho Chi Minh was also a kind of regime change.

Director Lence asked.

“If we attack North Korea, China will automatically intervene, so the collapse of the North’s leadership is the most ideal scenario. Who are you trying to eliminate?”

“If Chairman Kim is eliminated, the future of the North will become even more uncertain. Rather than a sudden collapse of the system, we want to change the regime to someone we want. To do that, we need to eliminate those currently in the hierarchy.”

“Who are you planning to support?”

“Chairman Kim’s son-in-law, Jang Song-taek.”

“Jang Song-taek!”

During Chairman Wang’s time, Jang Song-taek emerged as Kim Jong-un’s patron, but he was suddenly executed for treason.

The President was contemplating reversing this course of events.

“Chairman Kim is considering making his son the successor and is fostering competition among his sons. We will eliminate them all to elevate Jang Song-taek to the hierarchy.”

“So, Pyong-il, Young-il, Jong-il….”

“That’s right. Kim Jong-il was demoted due to the Pueblo incident failure and is now indulging in pleasure in the Czech Republic, and Kim Young-il is in East Germany. Kim Pyong-il, who replaced Kim Jong-il, is in Pyongyang, so we need to study him. I hope you will handle it well in the United States.”

“Since it’s a substitute for the demand for a local war, the White House will say okay.”

* * *

North Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh’s house.

Although Ho Chi Minh had retired from politics, his influence remained immense.

Ho Chi Minh tore open a pu-erh tea [fermented Chinese tea] imported from China and placed it in a teapot.

He poured hot water and poured the yellowish tea into a teacup.

Sip sip sip~

He wrapped his hands around the reddish teacup and savored the tea.

A warm energy spread throughout his body.

Um~

But his lips turned blue.

“Ugh!”

He clutched his heart.

Thump!

Ho Chi Minh collapsed. The cause of death was ruled as a heart attack.

* * *

Czech Republic, Prague.

Kim Jong-il had a residence as the Czech ambassador, but he often used a luxurious private residence.

It was to hold weekly parties of pleasure.

The free-spirited Kim Jong-il was enjoying pleasure with prostitutes, drinking high-end cognac and whiskey.

“White women are always ecstatic to ride, hahaha!”

He was not limited to alcohol but was also doing drugs.

“Sprinkle some powder!”

He sniffed and inhaled white powder through his nose.

He ate, drank, and enjoyed himself without knowing that the day was dawning.

It was around dawn.

“He’s not breathing!”

“Kyaa!”

The doctor rushed to him, who was sprawled naked between three women on the bed.

The doctor concluded that his death was due to a shock from drugs.

* * *

East Germany.

Late at night, Kim Young-il was driving home.

Vroom~

It was snowing, so the road was slippery.

“It’s snowing so heavily for the first snow. There will be a lot of snow this winter.”

He turned on the radio and tuned it to a music channel.

A West German music broadcast came on.

That’s when it happened.

The front of the car window brightened dimly like dawn.

A large truck was coming head-on.

“Aah!”

Crash!

* * *

Japan was also establishing a national strategy.

The operation chosen by Japan, where the prime minister was replaced for taking responsibility for the Okinawa separation and independence, was also a regime change in South Korea.

The new leader summoned ministers related to foreign affairs and security.

The Minister of Internal Affairs briefed.