The Chaebol Returns To The Presidency 1967 [EN]: Chapter 84

84. If You Have Guts, Come South

Moranbong Guest House.

Minister Jung went to sleep as soon as he washed up.

How long had it been since he closed his eyes?

Knock! Knock!

He opened his eyes wide at the sound of knocking.

Is it finally today!

Looking at the clock, it was almost 1 a.m.

The visitor was, as expected, the North’s liaison officer.

“Minister, get dressed quickly. We have somewhere to go.”

It was the beginning of a calculated surprise.

The KCIA [Korean Central Intelligence Agency, South Korea’s intelligence agency at the time] agents who were escorting him came in.

“What’s going on in the middle of the night?”

“We have somewhere to go.”

As the group, having changed clothes, was about to get into the car, the liaison officer said.

“Minister, get in my car.”

The KCIA agent said.

“What are you talking about? He should get in our car.”

“Don’t interfere. Just follow behind.”

“Then I’ll ride with the Minister.”

“It’s okay. I said follow behind!”

A scuffle broke out.

The North’s liaison officer and security agent pushed Minister Jung into their car.

Vroom~

As the vehicle carrying Minister Jung departed, the KCIA escort vehicle had no choice but to follow behind.

Vroom~

The vehicle carrying Minister Jung, which was running ahead, suddenly changed direction and slipped onto an unpaved road.

The second North Korean vehicle, which was guiding the escort vehicle, continued on the paved road.

The KCIA escort vehicle, unaware of this, followed the second vehicle onto the paved road.

Minister Jung’s car bumped along, heading up a narrow path on the back road of Moranbong.

In the middle of the night, being separated from his escorts and entering an unpaved mountain road with no streetlights, Minister Jung felt a chill down his spine.

Hmm, so this is how they’re trying to scare me.

If he hadn’t known their pattern, he would have wet his pants, thinking he might be buried in Pyongyang like this.

As Minister Jung remained calm, it was the liaison officer who was rather flustered.

“Minister, you have a lot of guts.”

“Are you going to eat me? Where are we going?”

“…….”

Vroom~

Meanwhile, the escort vehicle was in chaos.

“The Minister’s car is gone!”

“What? Then they shook us off? Did they kidnap the Minister?”

“Those bastards!”

Vroom~~~

Before long, lights appeared.

“Minister, this is Comrade Supreme Leader’s residence.”

“Why did you separate us from our escorts?”

“Hmm, hmm, there’s a reason.”

“…….”

“Comrade Supreme Leader likes independent and peaceful reunification among our people without foreign interference. Keep that in mind if you don’t want to ruin the talks.”

“…….”

Screech!

The car stopped, and Minister Jung got out.

Even though it was early summer, the blowing wind felt like the biting wind of midwinter.

Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

The mournful sound of a bird could also be heard.

“Minister!”

The KCIA escorts who had arrived earlier rushed over with relief.

The Minister comforted them.

“Haha, you were worried, weren’t you?”

“We were separated from you, and we thought you had been kidnapped.”

“Just think of it that way. What can we do? When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

The liaison officer blocked the escorts.

“Well, escorts, you can’t enter the residence. Wait here.”

“We have to go together this time. We absolutely can’t let him go alone.”

At this moment, the North Korean security agents around them cocked their pistols.

Click!

The unarmed South Korean bodyguards flinched.

Minister Jung said to the bodyguards.

“Stay here. I’ll meet him alone.”

“Minister, are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“What else can I do but die?”

“…….”

Minister Jung entered the residence with the liaison officer.

A security agent said to the Minister.

“Minister, I apologize, but please forgive us for the customary procedure.”

They thoroughly searched Minister Jung’s body at the entrance.

This time, a Ministry of State Security agent presented a basin.

Minister Jung asked.

“What is this?”

“It’s disinfectant. Please wash your hands.”

“…….”

“Here is also mouthwash, so please rinse in front of us.”

In North Korea, when the supreme leader makes an inspection, those who shake hands are selected in advance, and in preparation for contact with the dignity’s body, security agents conduct security checks in advance, as well as check for infectious diseases and parasites for hygiene.

Taking a picture with the dignity, or especially shaking hands, is a lifelong grace, a family honor, and an immediate promotion.

Because of this, in a certain special unit visited by the dignity, there was even a loyalty competition to pull out their fingernails, fearing that the dignity might be harmed by their fingernails.

As if they were having an audience with a god, they strictly observed formalities and made a fuss.

* * *

Supreme Leader’s Residence.

Supreme Leader Kim, with a protruding belly and a generous build, approached.

“Welcome, Minister.”

He extended his hand to the Minister.

“Thank you for the invitation, Your Excellency the Supreme Leader!”

The North Korean photographer who had been waiting pressed the shutter on the handshake scene.

It was said to be a one-on-one meeting with the Supreme Leader, but when he arrived, there were half a dozen high-ranking officials lined up.

Surrounded by North Korean officials without a single escort, the Minister couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

The reason for deliberately taking the secluded back road instead of the main road was also a psychological warfare tactic to create fear that he could die if the meeting with the dignity went wrong.

The Supreme Leader started the talks from this position of psychological advantage.

The Supreme Leader boosted Minister Jung’s mood by giving him a gift first.

“When you return to Seoul, please be sure to convey my words to President Park.”

“Yes!”

“Whether the South calls it the Blue House Incident or not, anyway, that incident was very regrettable to President Park. This incident was committed by leftist adventurists within our ranks. I apologize on their behalf.”

In North Korea, no matter how big a provocation they committed, they never apologized to South Korea.

In North Korea, the supreme leader is an existence without faults.

The Supreme Leader also blamed it on the adventurists, even though it was his own order.

It was a natural apology, but it felt almost grateful.

This was the effect of the psychological warfare that put him on a life-or-death roller coaster.

“I will definitely convey your words, Your Excellency the Supreme Leader!”

“If we reunify, Minister, you will become a national hero. You will become a great man who will be remembered in history.”

“I am unworthy, Your Excellency the Supreme Leader!”

After finishing praising the other party, the Supreme Leader got down to business.

“Reunification is not difficult if we exclude foreign powers. Let’s not fight among ourselves and unify as one country. Let’s not make an issue of communism or capitalism and prioritize the nation.”

His logic was that he would base it on a nation that transcends ideology.

However….

Minister Jung agreed.

“That’s right. If the people of the South and North abandon ideology and freely travel and exchange without the armistice line, no country will be able to stop peaceful reunification.”

Supreme Leader Kim paused at the word “free travel.”

“So, what I mean is, let’s first declare the three major principles of reunification: independence, peace, and great national unity in the South and North.”

“Your Excellency the Supreme Leader, in the late Joseon Dynasty [Korea’s last dynastic kingdom, lasting over five centuries], the isolationist Joseon missed the opportunity to actively modernize. I deeply regret that.”

“…….”

Suddenly bringing up the late Joseon Dynasty, the eloquent Supreme Leader Kim was at a loss for words.

Minister Jung said.

“The reason why the modernization faction Kim Ok-gyun ended with the Three-Day Reign in the late Joseon Dynasty is because only some of the leadership was ahead, and the people were not prepared at all.”

“…….”

“Ask a worker in a factory or a farmer in a rice paddy. What is communism and what is capitalism? How many people know the theory? Perhaps reunification has been difficult because the leaders of the South and North have been competing for power.”

“…….”

Criticizing the long-term rule, the surroundings became quiet.

They thought he was bland, but when Minister Jung pushed back so strongly, the North was in a state of mental breakdown.

The Supreme Leader regained his composure.

“Ahem, ahem, what I mean is that the leaders should take the lead first.”

“Then, would Your Excellency the Supreme Leader take the lead and visit Seoul?”

“Me?”

“The leader takes the lead and opens the way for South-North exchange first.”

“…….”

The Supreme Leader drank a glass of water.

Minister Jung said.

“Your Excellency the Supreme Leader, there is one word that I have not understood while negotiating with the North.”

“Hmm, what is it?”

“Independence, independence. You keep saying independence, but what is independence?”

“Don’t you know that? Independence is when there is no foreign interference.”

“The diplomacy of every country is determined by its relationship with foreign countries, or more precisely, by its national power. It’s the same with individuals. They make their own decisions in various relationships such as family, neighbors, company, and country. If you make decisions excluding family, neighbors, company, and country, it’s not really independence, but isolation on a desert island, and in terms of a country, wouldn’t it be isolationism?”

“…….”

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

The people around him were looking at him with eyes that said, ‘How dare you stand up to the Supreme Leader, do you want to die!’

However, Minister Jung pushed forward with guts.

“I think that big issues like the principles of reunification are agendas that the leaders of both countries should meet and decide directly. I am suitable for practical matters as a mere minister.”

The Supreme Leader’s face turned red and blue.

The North Korean escorts around him were restless.

“Hmm, hmm.”

The Supreme Leader coughed and tried to suppress his emotions and take care of the substance.

“Alright. When you return to the South, ask the South Korean President about the principles of reunification.”

“I understand, Your Excellency the Supreme Leader!”

“Since you are the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, let’s talk about oil.”

“…….”

“If oil is found on the South Korean continental shelf, can you supply it to our North Korea?”

“Of course.”

The Supreme Leader’s hardened face softened somewhat.

However, it turned cold again at Minister Jung’s next words.

“If the South and North agree on human, material, and industrial exchanges, oil will also be freely exported and imported as a resource. Since we have a special relationship with the North, we can negotiate the payment method later.”

It was a conditional acceptance based on the premise of South-North exchange.

In North Korea, closure and control were the basis for maintaining the regime. Therefore, allowing general public exchange meant the collapse of the regime.

However, according to Minister Jung, the leaders of the South and North had to meet to obtain oil and agree on exchange.

Supreme Leader Kim’s plan to jointly declare the exclusion of foreign powers and independence was twisted from the beginning.

The Supreme Leader asked.

“Do you want to go back empty-handed?”

“Your Excellency the Supreme Leader, are you rejecting the proposal for a visit to South Korea and human, material, and industrial exchanges between the South and North?”

“…….”

At this time, the Vice Premier intervened.

“It would be good to take a break and then continue the talks.”

“Yes, that would be good.”

Minister Jung was guided to the lounge next door, and they gathered and had a meeting.

The Supreme Leader raised his voice.

“What! I thought he was soft, but he’s a steel rod!”

“I, I’m sorry, Comrade Supreme Leader!”

“What are you going to do? Break it off right now!”

“Comrade Supreme Leader, it seems better to maintain at least a minimal exchange in order to obtain oil.”

There was also a dissenting opinion.

“We have a plan to raid the food warehouse. We don’t have to say anything regretful and just push it away when oil comes out.”

The Supreme Leader pondered the choice.

A surprise attack on South Korea was no problem, but he was afraid of the US nuclear retaliation because the 7th mining zone had an American oil stake.

Oil was rather an obstacle to the invasion of the South.

After a while, the talks resumed.

At this time, it was close to 2 a.m.