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Chapter 46: The Silent Fallout
Chapter 46: The Silent Fallout
North Korea suddenly went silent.
After a fierce exchange of accusations over the DMZ infiltration incident, North Korea abruptly cut off all communication and issued no statements.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense stopped its criticism and focused on assessing the situation.
Around this time, senior officers from the US-Korea Combined Forces Command met.
“This photo is...”
“It was taken by the Reconnaissance General Bureau a few hours ago. It was blown up very neatly, wasn’t it?”
Lee Seok-hoon, the director of the Intelligence Staff Office, couldn’t hide his astonishment at the photo handed over by Major General David.
He knew very well where the headquarters of the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau was located.
But the layout of the buildings he knew was completely different from this photo.
They had disappeared overnight.
“Did the US...”
Major General David quickly raised his hand.
“I don’t represent the White House, but I can assure you that we have nothing to do with this. However, we are suspecting various possibilities.”
“Does that include us?”
“We’re not ruling it out completely.”
“Major General, don’t you know our situation? Do you think we can launch a ballistic missile with that kind of power without the US military knowing? Does that make sense?”
The US military’s reconnaissance assets deployed in the Korean Peninsula could detect even a small missile flame.
Of course, many of the equipment had been withdrawn as relations between the two countries deteriorated, but it was nonsense to say that they couldn’t detect a firepower that could destroy the Reconnaissance General Bureau.
“That’s why it’s one of the possibilities. That includes our subordinate units and Japan as well.”
“···How far will this be disclosed?”
“It should not be reported in the media at least.”
“I understand.”
Meanwhile, the National Intelligence Service also managed to find out some of the details of this incident.
They mobilized all their human intelligence lines to North Korea and confirmed that there was a flash and a loud noise in the sky above Pyongyang, and that the shock wave was strong enough to break the windows of nearby apartments.
But it was difficult to verify any more information than that.
North Korea had completely blocked information by closing its borders.
Even the ports along the west coast were closed, and container ships carrying minerals stopped.
In the midst of this, ominous rumors circulated within North Korea.
The anti-aircraft command line had been purged entirely, or there was a loud noise from the No. 1 building of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Kim Jong-un’s impulsive personality and hysteria were not new, but this time it was different.
The National Intelligence Service obtained intelligence that Kim Jong-un had publicly executed about a dozen of his close aides.
―It’s clear that something has changed in North Korea. Maybe one of their anti-South operations agencies has gone up in smoke.
―There are rumors that Kim Jong-un cursed at the American bastards and South Korean bastards and raged.
The South Korean government was perplexed by this information.
―Who exactly should we be angry at?
―It’s absurd to blame South Korea for what happened inside North Korea. It’s like blaming others for one’s own faults.
The anti-North Korean intelligence agencies analyzed this situation as a mistake within North Korea.
Like the Ryongchon train explosion accident.
Neither South Korea nor the United States intervened, and it didn’t seem like Japan either, so who else could be the culprit?
But this common sense reasoning did not work in North Korea.
They revealed part of a building that had collapsed completely through their military communication network.
―We have secured all the evidence and plan to form an investigation committee with the cooperation of China and Russia. Confess before all your evil schemes against our republic are exposed.
The Ministry of National Defense immediately refuted this.
―This has nothing to do with us. If it’s true that a building in Pyongyang was attacked, what did their air defense network do? The one that is said to be the densest in the world?
North Korea had nothing to say to this rebuttal and changed the subject.
In fact, North Korea’s air defense network was old, but it wasn’t so bad that it couldn’t detect a ballistic missile.
They missed it completely, so it was natural that all the generals of the anti-aircraft command were purged.
In the meantime, using terrain comparison analysis, the National Intelligence Service revealed that the photo released by North Korea was near their Reconnaissance General Bureau.
When this fact became known, both the government and Joint Chiefs of Staff were shocked beyond measure.
―Did you say that their Reconnaissance General Bureau was blown up entirely? Is that true?
―It’s almost certain when we checked various anti-North lines and intelligence. It’s not that some of their Reconnaissance General Bureau officers were purged, but that their headquarters disappeared.
―Of course, the branches such as the liaison office or the 131st unit are fine, but since the head is gone, anti-South operations will be difficult for a while.
―As a result of this incident, more than 1,000 elite reconnaissance agents and dozens of senior officers from the center were killed. More importantly, their hacking talent that they had cultivated with great effort was gone, so the damage was enormous.
However, North Korea did not disclose this situation to the outside world.
In the fierce world of espionage, revealing one’s flaws and weaknesses was a foolish thing to do.
Instead, they chose to cling to their traditional allies, China and Russia.
Kim Yo-jong boarded an old plane for her trip, but the result was not satisfactory.
China showed signs of suspicion about the situation.
“You’re telling us that North Korea’s air defense network failed to detect the missile barrage? Do you expect us to believe that?”
“We can’t cooperate with you until you bring us solid evidence.”
China’s passive stance was probably influenced by its complex internal affairs.
Kim Yo-jong knew that, but she couldn’t help feeling bitter.
“I didn’t trust the revisionists. I’m going to Russia.”
But Russia didn’t even bother to meet her.ViiSiit for latest novels
She had hoped to have a meeting with a deputy prime minister, but all she got was a shabby office with some tea and choco pies.
It was a clear message to get lost.
“Th···”
Kim Yo-jong trembled alone and had to return home without any achievement.
After that, North Korea went completely silent.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense demanded a fundamental solution and an apology for the DMZ infiltration incident, but North Korea did not respond at all.
They decided to ignore it as they always did.
And the hatred of the South Koreans towards North Korea reached its peak.
There was a public outcry to execute the captured North Korean soldiers.
But execution was impossible from the start, and South Korea had a way to make good use of these prisoners.
“You’re agents of their Reconnaissance General Bureau, right? What are you going to do now? You have nowhere to go back.”
“If you go back like this, your superiors won’t let you off. You’ll end up in a prison camp at least.”
They were presented with photos and a large amount of data.
The North Korean agents had undergone rigorous training and brainwashing, but they couldn’t escape the pressure of being abandoned by their superiors.
They eventually spilled all their plans under the intense interrogation of the NIS agents.
“By the way, let me tell you that Fair Trade Commission has also looked into Silla Group.”
Arma turned on his finger projector like a teacher standing on a podium and started explaining.
“Some of Silla Group’s businesses have some parts that irritate Fair Trade Commission. But why they have been fine until now is...”
Because they couldn’t touch them easily.
The power of Fair Trade Commission was strong enough to arrange a meal with the head of a chaebol group anytime.
But Fair Trade Commission was essentially an agency that followed the president’s will, so it was hard to touch Shilla Group.
It was a company that the president cherished and received surrender from Japan.
If they messed with it, the backlash would be no joke.
In fact, there was not much to touch.
The markets where Shilla Group exercised dominant market share were all new businesses.
Black metal battery, artificial intelligence, superconductor, etc. were markets that would not have existed without Shilla Group.
Moreover, they did not abuse their dominant position or arbitrarily raise prices, so they could not be accused of monopoly.
The only thing they could catch was that Shilla Group monopolized black metal processing, but it was expected to be resolved in two years, so they could endure it.
Yu Ji-ha had no such thoughts.
Anyway, EU had a completely different position on this monopoly issue.
“They will start by warning you that you could face sanctions for violating antitrust laws.”
Silla Group’s business currently does not violate EU’s antitrust laws.
But if they impose sanctions on the grounds that Shilla Group monopolized black metal processing, it would be a headache.
The EU Commission is likely to judge that other companies can process it as well if they supply the decomposer.
Shilla Group may not suffer much except for the commission, but other companies that built factories in Korea are not.
If they block black metal batteries coming into EU, it will be a disaster.
Who? EU’s car companies.
“They are strangling their own companies, but they want to achieve their goals by doing so.”
Yu Ji-ha couldn’t help laughing at that absurd idea.
They threaten the other party by strangling their own neck?
They probably think he won’t give up such a huge market as EU, but he was willing to give up the US market as well.
His essential goal was not money.
“So they want to bring me to the negotiating table and then make me give a keynote speech at the UN General Assembly?”
“Do they want to make unobtainium a common property of humanity?”
“Going further, their true goal is to revise the space treaty. Korea should be included in that as well.”
“Do they think I’ll accept their proposal? What’s their trick?”
“At the bottom of it is the solidarity for peace that can be decided in the UN Security Council. Even if one of the permanent members vetoes, a resolution can be passed if certain conditions are met.”
Yu Ji-ha frowned at this point.
“Peace? What does superconductor have to do with peace?”
“Superconductor leads to nuclear fusion, which will bring ultimate peace to some regions.”
“That’s too far-fetched.”
“That’s what international politics is like. It seems to exist for the peace and human rights of humanity, but it can’t escape from the interests of the great powers.”
“Those great powers are China and France.”
“Britain and Germany are confirmed. They are confident that they can also persuade Russia.”
“Russia joins them and then they use solidarity for peace to revise the space treaty? That’s a really grand dream.”
“The US will veto it, but it’s not impossible if they invoke solidarity for peace and persuade non-permanent members.”
Originally, China planned to use Taiwan’s attack as bait to persuade the US, but it didn’t work out well.
Well, it’s hard to invade Taiwan when even landing training was canceled due to factionalism.
They needed to provoke them, but it wasn’t time yet.
Yu Ji-ha sneered.
“So unobtainium will finally be embraced by humanity when the resolution passes?”
They would think Russia was a variable, but in fact it was a constant.
Russia would never side with China.
No matter how much they promised to invest, it couldn’t compare to ion thruster and unobtainium.
Arma pointed his laser at the phrase “EU’s goal”.
“They will make you give a keynote speech at the General Assembly only if you refuse. They also have a sweet reward prepared for you: Nobel Prize in Physics.”
“Don’t you have to prove your scientific achievements in papers for that?”
“It includes discovery according to its purpose. You will win the Nobel Prize in Physics as the discoverer of unobtainium.”
“I’m not interested.”
But Korea’s public opinion would be quite interested.
Especially that guy who was looking for something to become his enemy.
He suddenly felt like he had laid out a spider web very skillfully.
Ordinary insects would be caught and eaten without moving, but Yu Ji-ha was different.
“Let’s make them never think about unobtainium again. Is the ion beam fusion design ready?”
“Yes. I can make it right away.”
“Let’s do that after 17 months and just design the ion beam and fuel pellet part for now. I need to show them that.”
Ion beam is essentially the same kind as ion thruster or ion cannon.
It has the advantage of consuming less power than pulsed laser irradiation method, which is also an inertial confinement method.
It does not use expensive tritium, so maintenance is quite cheap.
The problem is the ion beam that explodes the fuel pellet, which does not produce satisfactory compression rate with elements on Earth.
A hologram appeared in front of Yu Ji-ha and an ion beam fusion reactor was made in an instant.
“The energy gain is too high. Reduce it by 1/100 and simplify the design. Add some impurities to the fuel pellet as well.”
Then a 50-megawatt-scale technology demonstration nuclear fusion reactor was made.
It was possible to commercialize it with a little technology and experience, but there was a trap.
It was impossible without cooperation from this side.
Yu Ji-ha planned to unveil this in a year and five months.
Of course, he didn’t do it himself.
There were plenty of people who wanted to research, so why bother?
“Looks good. I wonder what EU countries, who value peace and human rights, will choose between reason and interest.”
“They will choose the former first. Tokamak method also has enough potential.”
“Let’s see how long that decision lasts.”
This applies after EU breaks through the first spider web and comes out.
They both laid out two layers of spider webs.
Which spider web is stronger will be known by experiencing it.
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