Chapter 782: The Coup’s Aftermath

“Boss, don’t move yet.”

Hearing Igor’s voice I started to get up, but Manager Kim reached out to stop me. He then gave orders to the bodyguards.

“Check if it’s safe!”

Half of the bodyguards who were protecting me fanned out, cautiously sweeping the area.

Some even slowly descended the mountain, double-checking for any signs of danger.

I slowly got to my feet, brushing the dirt off my clothes.

“Hah…”

Even though it was still dangerous I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.

Just as Manager Kim said, I didn’t rush out recklessly. I smoothed out my disheveled clothes and waited for Igor to arrive.

How much time had passed? Only after Igor and the bodyguards confirmed that the North Korean soldiers were annihilated did they approach me.

“Boss.”

Igor called out to me, his voice filled with worry.

I chuckled softly and patted Igor’s shoulder. Of course, I didn’t forget to tell him he did a good job.

Igor handed me a thick coat, saying,

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Boss.”

As I put on the coat, I finally realized how much I had been shivering from the cold.

Or maybe it wasn’t just the cold. I rubbed my chilly arms and asked.

“What about the injured?”

“There are no fatalities. The injured are being treated. Boss, isn’t this the wrong time to be worried about that?”

“You’re right. Still, I was worried. Let’s cross the border quickly. Let’s go down.”

Igor and Manager Kim positioned themselves on either side of me, acting as my escort.

As we descended to the road the remnants of the battle were still clearly visible.

The road was riddled with bullet holes and there was blood and corpses everywhere. Mostly those of the North Korean soldiers.

I glanced at the gruesome scene of the North Korean soldiers then climbed into the military vehicle Igor had arrived in.

“Let’s go home now. I miss the comfort of Seoul.”

Once we crossed the Russian border we would be safe.

No one in North Korea could follow us across the Russian border.

* * *

General Political Bureau operations room.

Choi Ryong-hae was in complete disbelief.

The operation should have been a success. Choi Ryong-hae was certain of it.

But every report he received only brought bad news.

“What is going on! Why can’t I get in touch with the Pyongyang Defense Command!”

The key to this coup was the Pyongyang Command.

Even though its size was reduced by half, it was a unit stationed close to Pyongyang.

Their troop strength was not significantly different from the Guard Headquarters that had a garrison in Pyongyang.

“We have received reports that the imprisoned Commander has been released.”

“What? What nonsense is that! Are you even making any sense!”

“While most of our personnel were heading to Pyongyang, the remaining officers rescued the Commander and returned command to him.”

Choi Ryong-hae slammed his hand on the desk. He then yelled out in a sharp voice.

“Tell the commanders advancing to Pyongyang to ignore them and continue to advance!”

“Yes, General Political Bureau Chief!”

Choi Ryong-hae had ordered the General Political Bureau’s elite troops to secure the villa, in order to capture Kim Jong-il.

“What about the General? Have they secured the General?”

“That’s… We can’t get in touch with him.”

“What!”

Choi Ryong-hae gritted his teeth. There was only one thing left to do.

Kim Jong-il had to be secured at all costs.

There were still people in the People’s Army who supported him.

The success or failure of this coup depended on a single word from Kim Jong-il.

“Keep trying. We must secure the General!”

“Yes!”

Choi Ryong-hae’s face changed constantly. Now it was so pale it looked like he was already dead.

The more anxious he became the more confused the other officers became.

“General Political Bureau Chief.”

At that moment, Kim Young-chun came up and tapped Choi Ryong-hae’s shoulder.

“Marshal.”

“If the General Political Bureau Chief is anxious, it will make others even more anxious. So keep your resolve. Understand?”

“…Yes, Marshal.”

Kim Young-chun made eye contact with Choi Ryong-hae as he continued.

“Contact Jiang Zemin. Tell them to move the Chinese army across the border.”

“What? That’s…”

“If we fail like this we’re all dead! And we won’t even have a peaceful death!”

When Choi Ryong-hae hesitated, Kim Young-chun spoke in a strong tone.

“Does Jang Seong-taek seem like a good person? Don’t you remember the bloodbath that happened when he took power?”

Jang Seong-taek used people’s fear to carry out the purges. It was to simply reduce the number of purges.

Remembering that time Choi Ryong-hae unknowingly held his breath.

“Didn’t they shred the bodies with anti-aircraft guns? If you don’t want to die like that then get a grip!”

“Ah, I understand.”

Choi Ryong-hae took a deep breath again and picked up the phone in front of him.

“I’m going to move to the General Staff’s underground command center and take command.”

“…Suddenly?”

“It’s better than doing nothing here. I’ll command the troops from there.”

“Then I leave it to you.”

For Choi Ryong-hae it was definitely good news that Kim Young-chun, the Chief of General Staff, would move.

Kim Young-chun wore a warm smile but inside he was already thinking differently.

‘I have to save myself first.’

From the beginning it was difficult for a military coup to happen in North Korea.

The reason Jang Seong-taek was able to succeed with the coup was because of Kim Mu-hyeok’s help but also due to luck.

On the other hand, this coup was already falling apart from the start and was doomed to fail.

Kim Young-chun planned to suppress the rebels as the Chief of General Staff if necessary. That was the only way he could survive.

To do that, he had to get out of here at all costs.

“I will catch Jang Seong-taek for sure.”

Kim Young-chun led all the officers who had come with him from the General Staff out of the General Political Bureau command room.

Watching that scene, the 1st Deputy Director of the General Political Bureau cautiously whispered to Choi Ryong-hae.

“General Political Bureau Chief. Is it okay to just let Marshal Kim Young-chun go like that?”

Choi Ryong-hae looked at the Deputy Director with a puzzled look.

“If he joins Jang Seong-taek, things could go wrong.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Why would the Chief of General Staff do that? And even if he joined them do you think Jang Seong-taek would spare him?”

“Still…”

Choi Ryong-hae patted the Deputy Director’s shoulder when he heard his anxious voice.

“Don’t worry. The coup will succeed. Isn’t China behind us?”

If it was just Choi Ryong-hae, he would have had a hard time gathering even half the officers gathered here.

He was able to gather such a large force because he trusted China.

Choi Ryong-hae called Jang Zemin’s direct line.

The signal kept ringing but no one answered.

Once. Twice. Three times.

The more attempts he made the deeper Choi Ryong-hae’s anxiety grew.

“Those bastards! Why aren’t they answering the phone!”

When the fourth attempt failed, Choi Ryong-hae couldn’t control his anger and slammed the receiver on the table while cursing.

“I shouldn’t have trusted those Chinese bastards! Those sons of bitches!”

Everyone in the command room stopped what they were doing and looked at Choi Ryong-hae who was raging with anger.

“What are you doing! Do you have nothing better to do? Move now!!”

Choi Ryong-hae yelled at the officers.

The 1st Deputy Director closed his eyes as he watched the scene. This was his true nature.

A thug who used his meager power to oppress people.

At that moment, the door opened and the Inspector of the Ministry of Public Security entered the command room.

“General Political Bureau Chief! Guard Headquarters troops are leading tanks and crossing the bridge, advancing toward the General Political Bureau!”

“What?”

“They have already crossed the bridge 10 minutes ago!”

“Why are you only reporting this now!”

Choi Ryong-hae picked up the shattered phone and threw it at the Inspector of the Ministry of Public Security.

The phone barely missed the Inspector’s face and crashed against the wall, shattering into pieces.

“Stop them! Stop them even if you die! If we hold out a bit longer Marshal will arrive with reinforcements!”

“Yes, yes!”

The Inspector of the Ministry of Public Security left the command room again.

“Call for support now! What are you all doing standing around!”

Two battalion-sized units were always on standby near the General Political Bureau headquarters.

They were a smaller force compared to the Guard Headquarters, but if they defended this fortified area they would be able to buy enough time.

If they could get support from the General Staff and annihilate the Guard Headquarters forces that were advancing there was a good chance of victory.

After doing the calculations, Choi Ryong-hae raised his voice again.

“Contact the General Staff. Tell them to send support here as soon as Marshal arrives!”

“Yes!”

Choi Ryong-hae moved to the window with a sense of unease.

He watched through the window as the soldiers busied themselves preparing defenses and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

* * *

Won Seong-hee the Commander of the Guard Headquarters, following Jang Seong-taek’s order, led his troops directly toward the General Political Bureau.

Won Seong-hee’s unit departed from Moranbong District in Pyongyang City where the Guard Headquarters were located. One by one, the independent brigades scattered throughout the city joined them.

The citizens of Pyongyang, unnerved by the sudden movement of the military, quickly disappeared from the streets.

Leading tanks and other special equipment the unit arrived near the General Political Bureau after crossing the bridge.

“Everyone prepare!”

Won Seong-hee’s order echoed from a loudspeaker mounted on a Soviet jeep.

Soldiers quickly began to disembark from trucks and the tanks that stopped aimed their cannons toward the General Political Bureau.

“Listen, rebels! This is Guard Headquarters Commander Won Seong-hee. I have come to suppress the rebels under the orders of the State Affairs Commission. Throw down your weapons! Or death will be your only reward!”

The soldiers in the General Political Bureau began to move quickly at the sound of Won Seong-hee’s voice which reverberated through the loudspeaker.

“Surrender! The rebellion has already failed!”

But there was no response. Won Seong-hee clicked his tongue and gave an order.

“Advance! Kill all the rebels!!”

As soon as the suppression order was issued, the Guard Headquarters soldiers began to advance, led by the M1992 armored vehicles.

Firebird anti-tank missiles were fired from the armored vehicles and shattered the General Political Bureau’s main gate.

KWAHAAANG!

A massive explosion marked the start of the battle.

At the same time, the heavy machine guns installed in the General Political Bureau building began to spit out bullets.

However, the heavy machine guns could not penetrate the M1992 armored vehicles.

As if to retaliate, the machine guns installed on the armored vehicles began to fire.

The bullets fired from the armored vehicles completely tore through the soldiers hiding behind the General Political Bureau walls.

Ta-ta-ta-ta. Du-du-du-du.

Won Seong-hee watched the General Political Bureau headquarters from a distance while continuing to issue orders.

At that time, a communication soldier standing by his side called out to him.

“Commander!”

The communication soldier held out a communication device to him, saying,

“It’s the State Affairs Commission!”

Won Seong-hee snatched the communication device.

“Yes! This is Commander Won Seong-hee!”

— How is it going?

“The battle has just begun.”

— How dare they resist? Those bastards!

Hearing the report that the battle had begun, Jang Seong-taek gritted his teeth.

— There will be no troops supporting the General Political Bureau. I have just received a report that Chief of General Staff Kim Young-chun has returned by his own accord.

“Ah…”

— The troops that departed from Pyongyang Defense Command have all returned. If you clean up the remaining stragglers there it’ll all be over.

“Yes! I’ll quickly suppress them.”

— No. Maintain the current state. We can’t let our brave soldiers get hurt!

“Are you saying we should maintain a stand off?”

Won Seong-hee asked in return, unable to understand the order.

“We can suppress them quickly. I will capture all the traitors and offer them to the State Affairs Commission!”

— No. I will send the air force. Stand by.

The communication was cut off. Won Seong-hee was dumbfounded.

‘Air Force? Did he just say air force?’

Won Seong-hee unconsciously looked up at the sky and murmured.

“It seems he’s going to completely obliterate them…”

He quickly collected his thoughts, looked down and immediately issued an order.

“Everyone hold your current positions! Don’t advance recklessly!”

“Yes!”

His subordinates quickly relayed the order.

The commander of the 57th Air Regiment in Nampo City received a sudden order.

He stared blankly at the disconnected receiver and muttered.

“Did I just hear that correctly? Bomb the General Political Bureau headquarters?”

But there was no mistaking that the voice he heard from the receiver was clearly that of State Affairs Commission Jang Seong-taek.

“There’s no time to waste.”

He immediately called for his squadron leader on standby.

“Did you call for me, Commander!”

“Launch the squadron immediately. The target is Pyongyang.”

“What? I must have misheard you.”

When the squadron leader blankly asked again, the commander barked.

“Didn’t you hear me? Launch immediately! The State Affairs Commission has issued a direct order!”

“…Is that real?”

“You bastard! There isn’t a moment to waste! The target is the General Political Bureau Headquarters in Pyongyang. Launch now! That’s an order!”

The squadron leader, startled by the commander’s fierce order, saluted and left.

He quickly called the pilots and took off.

“Squadron Leader, what in the world is going on?”

“I don’t know. I just heard that it’s an order directly from the State Affairs Commission.”

The pilots kept asking the squadron leader questions via the communication device but he had nothing to tell them.

Despite a slight unease, the pilots were able to quickly reach Pyongyang airspace without any hindrance.

“This… Now that I’m here I understand. The State Affairs Commission’s order is real.”

There was no response from the air defense battalion that guarded Pyongyang.

Pyongyang has had a dense air defense network for a long time.

If the order was fake, they would have been attacked. But there wasn’t even a sign of that.

The roads and buildings of Pyongyang came into view. Soon they would arrive at their target.

“We are about to arrive, Squadron Leader!”

At that moment a transmission came through to the squadron leader.

— I’m the Air Force Commander! Where are you now!

“I’ve just entered Pyongyang.”

— Good. Unleash everything! Don’t leave a trace! Kill all those traitorous bastards!

The squadron leader, doubting his ears, stammered and asked again due to the shocking order.

“I-is that real?”

— This is an order. Use all available firepower and obliterate them!

The communication was cut off. What brought the flustered squadron leader back to reality was his subordinate’s report.

“Squadron Leader! The target is in sight!”

The target, the General Political Bureau, finally came into view.

“What do we do, Squadron Leader?”

“What do you think we should do! We have to do it! Unleash everything!”

As soon as the squadron leader’s order was issued all the pilots responded.

Soon, missiles mounted on the MIG-29s were simultaneously fired toward the General Political Bureau headquarters.