Chapter 466: I’ve Sorted Things Out to Some Extent

Money can solve anything. At least, that’s what I thought.

But Jang Seong-taek seemed to disagree, furrowing his brow as he responded.

“That’s because you don’t understand our Republic well. It’ll be hard to persuade them with money. When you’re by the Chairman’s side, money naturally follows.”

He’s making simple things sound complicated. I shook my head slightly and said,

“I’m sure that’s true. But that only applies to high-ranking military officers and officials. Field grade officers, or what you’d call senior colonels in North Korea, are different.”

My targets weren’t the generals.

“Even in South Korea, the main force behind military coups were field grade officers. There were a few generals, but they were the minority. It was mostly colonels, lieutenant colonels, and majors who moved the troops. Would North Korea be any different? Aren’t they the ones who actually control the military?”

The military coups in our country were also led by field grade officers.

In the end, it was the general-grade officers who seized power, but it was the field grade officers who planned and led everything.

And the recent coup attempt in Pyongyang was also instigated by field grade officers.

Jang Seong-taek couldn’t have been unaware of this.

“…You’re right. As you said, Boss Kim, they led the coup attempt in Pyongyang this time too. That’s why now, without the generals’ permission, the moment they move the military, they’re branded as rebels.”

The failure of the previous coup attempt seemed to have left a deep trauma in Jang Seong-taek.

Or was he afraid because he knew how they died?

Jang Seong-taek didn’t hide his anxiety, displaying it openly.

“We don’t need a large number of people for a coup. There’s no reason to kill Kim Jong-il either. It might be better to secure him rather than kill him.”

A large-scale movement had a high chance of failure, just like last time.

The best-case scenario was to secure Kim Jong-il with minimal personnel, and assassinating Kim Jong-il was the next best option.

“Securing Kim Jong-il with a small force. That’s what you need to do, Deputy Director Jang. You should know what needs to be done to achieve this.”

There was no way Jang Seong-taek hadn’t planted at least one of his people in the Guard Command.

If he had, talks of coups would be pointless; he’d have to quietly surrender his neck.

Jang Seong-taek seemed to understand the implication of my words and swallowed hard.

“Don’t tell me you don’t have anyone in the Guard Command. If you’re that incompetent, I might have to reconsider our arrangement.”

The young officers who graduated from Soviet military schools had all been purged and were no longer in the military.

Among the purged young officers, there must have been some of Jang Seong-taek’s people too.

But most of the people in the Guard Command had survived.

To enter the Guard Command, one had to undergo ideological education from a young age, almost like brainwashing, and pass a background check that went as far as distant relatives.

Of course, a very small number of Guard Command personnel had participated in the previous Pyongyang coup attempt.

However, most of them had resisted the coup forces until the end, and Kim Jong-il’s trust in these Guard Command soldiers had grown even stronger.

He was shocked that a small number had participated, but he didn’t erase his trust in them.

After pondering for a moment, Jang Seong-taek answered.

“I don’t have anyone in the 1st Guard, which provides close protection. I have a few people in the 2nd and 3rd Guards below that. There are quite a few people in the 2nd and 4th Bureaus who are in contact with me.”

My guess was right. I nodded at his confirmation that he had planted people in the Guard Command.

But it was disappointing that he didn’t have anyone in the most crucial 1st Guard.

Well, if he was caught planting someone in the 1st Guard, which protects Kim Jong-il himself and his family, his head would fly off immediately, so he must have been cautious.

Still, hoping against hope, I asked once more.

“Are you sure there’s not even one person in the 1st Guard Bureau?”

Jang Seong-taek’s expression darkened slightly.

“It would be more accurate to say there was. He died during the last coup attempt. By the bullets of the coup forces.”

“Hmm…”

“Since then, I haven’t had the opportunity to plant anyone there.”

If there was no one in the 1st Guard, which provides close protection, I had to scrap my plan and come up with a new one.

I closed my eyes and sank into thought. Meanwhile, Wen Jiabao questioned Jang Seong-taek.

“Deputy Director Jang, don’t you have any other forces? This seems too small to be called the power of the man known as North Korea’s second-in-command. Were you calling for reform without any real backing?”

While still deep in thought, I kept one ear open. I couldn’t afford to miss their conversation just because I was pondering.

“After the failure of the Pyongyang coup, most heads of power agencies were replaced. During that time, I was also exiled to a rural farm. I didn’t have time to plant my people.”

“So you’re saying all the high-ranking officials who shared your views were purged? Even if you manage to secure Chairman Kim Jong-il, without support from the upper echelons, a civil war could break out immediately.”

For a while, the two engaged in a heated debate about how to carry out the coup.

The content was not something that could be easily decided, so the conversation kept going in circles.

“Choe Ryong-su, who’s in charge of the Ministry of People’s Security, has a special relationship with me. He will likely side with us.”

As soon as I heard Choe Ryong-su’s name, my eyes snapped open.

Something’s not right here. I looked at Jang Seong-taek with puzzled eyes and asked,

“Has Choe Ryong-su been appointed to the Ministry of People’s Security? Has Baek Hak-rim stepped down?”

The attention of the two conversing men shifted to me. After staring at me for a moment, Jang Seong-taek answered,

“Comrade Baek Hak-rim, the Minister of Social Security, stepped down citing old age. However, that’s just the surface reason. He took responsibility for failing to prevent the coup.”

Baek Hak-rim was one of the key figures who put Kim Jong-il in power.

Kim Jong-il trusted him so much that most of the purges after Kim Il-sung’s death were carried out by Baek Hak-rim.

He established a special organization called the Simhwajo within the Ministry of People’s Security and carried out bloody purges against those who opposed him.

It was known as the Simhwajo incident, a major purge during Kim Jong-il’s early reign.

The man standing before me, Jang Seong-taek, was the one who masterminded it behind the scenes, while Baek Hak-rim, as the Minister of Social Security, carried out all the visible work.

Most of Kim Il-sung’s comrades were purged, and the number of people killed reached tens of thousands. It was a massive massacre.

And now they’ve removed Baek Hak-rim from that position.

“Did you orchestrate Baek Hak-rim’s removal and Choe Ryong-su’s appointment, Deputy Director Jang?”

“No, I didn’t. Comrade Chairman knows about my relationship with Choe Ryong-su. He was appointed before I was reinstated.”

“…”

The fact that Choe Ryong-su was Jang Seong-taek’s close associate was information widely known even to me.

Yet they appointed Choe Ryong-su as the head of the Ministry of People’s Security, which is essentially North Korea’s equivalent of China’s Public Security?

This was a poisoned apple. A bait that should never be taken.

“Absolutely do not discuss this operation with Choe Ryong-su. In fact, don’t even mention it. This is bait thrown by Kim Jong-il to catch you, Deputy Director Jang.”

The moment he bites this bait, Jang Seong-taek is dead. Kim Jong-il’s brother-in-law or not, his head will fly off immediately.

“Are you doubting Choe Ryong-su? That man has been my close friend for a long time. If we can’t even consult with him, this operation is doomed to fail.”

“Think about it, Deputy Director. You know better than anyone what kind of person Kim Jong-il is. And yet, he puts Choe Ryong-su, who’s known to be close to you, in that position? Doesn’t that seem odd to you? When you were suffering in exile at a rural farm, when most of your associates were being removed, he got promoted to head the Ministry of People’s Security. You know better than I do what kind of position that is.”

Jang Seong-taek must have felt something was off too. His faith in Choe Ryong-su just outweighed that feeling.

No matter how I looked at it, moving together with that man was dangerous.

“For now, let’s proceed without involving Choe Ryong-su. It’s best to minimize variables that could complicate things.”

“Have you come up with a better plan?”

“I’ve sorted things out to some extent. The original plan was based on the assumption that you had someone in the 1st Guard, but since you don’t, we’ll have to scrap that. It’s a shame, as that was the best-case scenario.”

Jang Seong-taek looked curious, but there was no point in discussing a plan that had already been discarded.

“For now, let’s move on from that. Prepare a list of those who might oppose you when Kim Jong-il is either killed or secured. We need to gather them all in one place and either kill or subdue them before proceeding with the operation.”

Jang Seong-taek’s face hardened at the mention of killing, but he soon nodded obediently.

I began to unfold my hastily crafted plan.

“The U.S. will propose a six-party talk including China, Russia, South Korea, North Korea, and Japan. It’s to discuss the North Korean nuclear issue.”

Wen Jiabao looked at me with a surprised face.

“Is that true? We haven’t received any information about this yet. How do you know about it, Boss Kim?”

“I happened to find out in advance.”

I couldn’t reveal the source of the information. They wouldn’t believe me even if I did.

Although there was no official information yet, the Bush administration needed to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue to win next year’s presidential election.

“What you’ve heard here today, don’t mention it anywhere else.”

Wen Jiabao and Jang Seong-taek nodded in agreement.

“And…”

I closely examined Jang Seong-taek’s face as I spoke.

“Kim Jong-il probably already has one completed nuclear bomb in his possession.”

“What did you say? A nuclear weapon?”

Wen Jiabao asked in shock, but I kept my eyes fixed on Jang Seong-taek.

However, Jang Seong-taek also looked genuinely surprised.

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying Comrade Chairman has a nuclear weapon?”

It seems he didn’t know. If this is an act, Jang Seong-taek should be an actor.

“When the Soviet Union collapsed, several nuclear weapons went missing. Fortunately, Russia recovered the rest, but one nuclear weapon remains unaccounted for.”

My shocking statement left Wen Jiabao’s mouth agape, and Jang Seong-taek’s eyes trembled.

“Surely… Are you suggesting that it’s in Comrade Chairman’s hands?”

“Yes. I’ve been tracking it for a long time, and I found evidence that it was channeled into North Korea through the Russian mafia.”

“But that’s just circumstantial evidence, isn’t it?”

“The Russian government has already concluded that the nuclear weapon is in North Korea and is discussing countermeasures. This is top-secret information. If either of you leak this information for domestic politics or diplomacy, I will no longer consider you my partners.”

I warned them again, but they seemed too shocked to register my warning.

They just stared blankly at my face.

“We need to proceed assuming Kim Jong-il has nuclear weapons. Russia won’t object to you taking power, Deputy Director Jang, as long as they can recover the nuclear weapon.”

Wen Jiabao, shaking his head to clear his mind, interrupted me and asked,

“No, no. Boss Kim, what if Kim Jong-il pretends to be crazy and uses the nuclear weapon? Who knows what he might do if cornered?”

“That’s possible. But it won’t happen. That’s why I’m revealing this information now, to prevent that.”

I looked at Jang Seong-taek as I spoke.

“Even if the six-party talks begin, Kim Jong-il won’t be cooperative. He’ll just use it to buy time for nuclear development. During that time, Deputy Director Jang, you need to find out where the nuclear weapon might be.”

If Jang Seong-taek sets his mind to it, he should be able to find suspicious locations, even if it takes time.

“Can you do it, Deputy Director Jang?”