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Chapter 64: North Korea's Provocation
Chapter 64: North Korea's Provocation
Japan’s Nuclear Experiment Fails!
A sudden rumor took over the Japanese websites.
The Japanese people discussed whether the experiment really failed in the comment sections of the articles or on SNS.
Most of the opinions were firmly convinced that the rumor was fake.
―This experiment was completely confidential. No one would know unless someone leaked it.
―Even if the experiment failed, no one would leak it unless they were stupid.
―How could we fail when North Korea succeeded? That’s nonsense. It’s probably a false rumor spread by the Koreans.
―Binaida binaida God Buddha Inao...
But the wind started to blow against their wishes.
The major media outlets in the US, such as CNN and Fox News, pinpointed the exact location of the nuclear test site.
―We will reveal the location of this nuclear test. Saga Prefecture, Hiroshima.
―According to various sources, no seismic waves were detected in this nuclear test.
The Japanese archipelago was turned upside down when the US released photos taken by satellites.
―Where is Hiroshima attached to?
―What is this? Did they really build a nuclear test site there?
―An irreversible final failure? Did they already do the experiment?
As many doubts arose, the Japanese media also started to cover this.
When they dug deeper, a lot of information poured out like a valley water after a rainstorm.
The reason why many escort ships of the 2nd Fleet, which had no training schedule, left the port.
The reason why the whereabouts of the prime minister’s secretaries were vague.
The reason why Japan’s largest Izumo-class helicopter carrier suddenly disappeared.
And finally, the reason why the international music festival that was held in spring on a nearby island was canceled.
As the media reported these facts, the Japanese people panicked.
―That can’t be. This is not true...
―What are you doing, Ozawa! It’s an experiment that even North Korea succeeded! Are you trying to make us look like fools!
―If it’s true that the experiment failed, we’re doomed. The whole world will rush in to sanction us.
―Why? Weren’t we loved by the world?
―There was no country that sincerely wished Japan to become a nuclear power. Are you stupid?
―Damn, South Korea is laughing at us!
―South Korea doesn’t seem to care much.
―They seem to have cut off their attention since they demanded three terms.
―That’s what the netizens wanted.
―Let’s just worry about how to withstand the sanctions from various countries.
―Japan is really over...
―The White House is briefing. It must be about us.
The reporters gathered in the East Room of the White House.
Soon President McKinley appeared and began his speech.
―For a while, the world, except for the US, has repeatedly urged Japan to stop its experiment, but they did not listen. This was a clear act of shaking the security of East Asia-Pacific, and it ultimately failed.
―Now it’s time for the international community to take action. We urge the Japanese IAEA Director General to resign immediately. And Japan must undergo a comprehensive inspection. This is the minimum measure that the US can take...
After his speech, he mentioned anti-dumping tariffs on Japanese products as well as boycotts.
He targeted Japan’s core manufacturing industries, from automobiles to steel, industrial robots and precision equipment.
President McKinley left without taking any questions, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 and other indices fell sharply.
It seemed like panic selling had occurred, as the stock prices of various manufacturers plummeted without a single rebound.
Sidecars and even circuit breakers exploded, and it closed early in a few hours.
Japan’s political, economic and financial sectors were all in panic.
As cries of what the prime minister was doing echoed, Prime Minister Ozawa finally bowed his head at his official residence.
“I have nothing to say because everything is due to my incompetence. I regret it.”
That was it.
The prime minister left and his secretaries stayed behind and shouted at the camera.
An enraged remark burst out among the reporters who couldn’t stand it anymore.
“What have you been doing all this time?”
“How are you going to cope with the sanctions from other countries? Do you have any plans?”
Of course, there was none.
The only hope was one thing.
Yu Ji-ha, chairman of Silla Group, would hold Japan’s hand.
Even if various countries imposed sanctions on them, Japan could recover as long as Yu Ji-ha supported them.
They would have to give up more than three terms, but it was better than sinking like this.
But he didn’t know that.
A few hours ago, a cargo ship of the United Federation that passed through Japan’s territorial waters was inspected by the Maritime Security Agency.
It was a result of the agency staff blindly following their manual.
It was the same incident that happened when they inspected a ship carrying railguns and iron beams.
Prime Minister Ozawa thought that the chief of staff had withdrawn the order, but it was not true.
He didn’t know that and called Yu Ji-ha directly on his personal phone.
He seemed to speak Korean well, so he would listen...
But Yu Ji-ha hung up the phone after leaving this one word.
“Explain the video of the article on the South Korean portal site.”
“···What are you talking about?”
The prime minister, who was puzzled, accessed the Korean portal site with the help of his secretaries and looked for the article.
He finally saw the video.
―But that thing is huge. It would be a hit if it was used as a container ship.
ᄂHave you ever seen a container ship? It’s several times bigger than that.
ᄂTrue, but it’s much faster than its size. Isn’t it almost as fast as a plane?
ᄂIf you think about it, it’s a platform that combines the advantages of a plane and a ship. It has great speed and decent cargo capacity.
ᄂDid they cover the drawbacks of WIG with artificial intelligence design? That would be awesome.
ᄂHow efficient is the fuel?
ᄂIt uses an ion thruster, so the efficiency must be amazing. The navy officials were shocked by how good the fuel efficiency was in the Kim-class test drive.
ᄂKim-class must have tried everything, right? I want to ride a railgun cruiser too...
ᄂHonestly, it was too much to claim to be a destroyer with that size.
ᄂWell, Zumwalt also insists on being a destroyer.
While they were talking like this, the Japanese government did not give up and tried to contact the South Korean government.
But the politicians, including Jo Hyung-geun, were not very interested.
It was not because they hated Japan, but because all their attention was on North Korea.
Especially when Jo Hyung-geun revealed his true intentions in an interview with some media outlet, the impact was huge.
“Our wish is not unification, but northward expansion, northward expansion!”
Korea was turned upside down and he smirked.
He was looking for an excuse, but North Korea was passive, so he was annoyed.
However, he needed the consent of the National Assembly to start a war, and the opposition party looked at him like he was crazy, and even the ruling party did not agree.
“That’s all fine and good, but what about the nukes? They have more than 50 gigatons. Do you think we can handle that if they drop them on Seoul? How many of the ten million people in Seoul are you planning to kill?”
“Even if we manage to push them back, there’s another problem. What about the 20 million refugees? Who’s going to take responsibility for them? Are you going to feed and shelter them at the Blue House?”
President Jo Hyung-geun claimed that he had a solution for everything, but no one believed him.
Of course, there was a plan for occupying North Korea.
It wasn’t for nothing that there was a Northern Five Province Office. There was a governance plan for when the territory was reclaimed.
But there was no guarantee that the plan would work properly, and there was no discussion on how to dismantle North Korea, which had more than 20 million people.
It was like a student who had an exam right in front of him, but couldn’t even cram.
He had no choice but to do his best with his usual skills, but while Korea’s military power was considerable, its administrative aspect was uncertain.
As South Korea was in turmoil, a new headache arose.
It was the problem of North Korea’s foreign debt.
In the past, North Korea borrowed $16 billion and it became a bad debt.
Currently, it was traded at around 20% of its face value, which stemmed from the expectation that Korea would pay it back if it annexed North Korea.
South Korea might think that it didn’t have to pay it back, but the international community would have a different opinion.
Anyway, the price of this debt rose sharply as Korea’s northward advance became visible.
The creditor group, the Paris Club, was rumored to have entered a meeting.
They probably wanted to figure out the exact size of the debt in the market and present a bill to the Korean government.
The South Korean government ignored all these movements.
It was because if they made a fuss and bought the debt, it would raise the expectations even more.
The only thing they could do now was to somehow provoke North Korea and find an excuse to advance northward or get cooperation from the National Assembly.
They had to have something to push forward with, they couldn’t just go up without any signs, right?
There was a rumor that President Jo Hyung-geun’s screams could be heard every day at the Blue House.
“If there’s no excuse, we’ll make one!”
In this chaotic situation, the general election began.
...
He threw his hat in the ring as an independent candidate for Bundang-gu Gap district, which he held in the previous election.
When his candidacy was announced, the media predicted that he would win despite having a four-term veteran as his opponent.
His influence in Pangyo, or rather in the whole of South Korea, was immense.
―If he were old enough, he could have run for president as an independent and won for sure.
―Elections are a fight of grassroots organizations, but that doesn’t apply to Chairman Yu Ji-ha.
There was hardly a day when Yu Ji-ha or Shilla Group didn’t appear on the evening news, and it had been a long time since his name alone on a YouTube thumbnail caused views to skyrocket.
A restaurant in Pangyo put up a banner saying that all food was free for Yu Ji-ha, and the whole street followed suit.
Of course, Yu Ji-ha still ate at the cafeteria in his building, so he had no reason to go there.
In this way, his election was virtually confirmed, but there was one problem.
He had to step down from his chairman position to become a congressman.
There was speculation in the public that his father, former chairman Yoo Kyung-seok, would temporarily take over the group, but Yu Ji-ha’s choice was different.
He entrusted Arma, his secretary, with the position of representative director of Holdings.
Arma, who had American citizenship, became the interim chairman of Shilla Group.
This sparked rumors in the media that the father-son relationship was not good, but there was no way to know since neither of them said anything.
Yoo Kyung-seok and his wife had left Korea and gone to America, so they couldn’t even ask for an interview.
Anyway, the election day approached and Yu Ji-ha was the first one to confirm his victory.
Leaders and businessmen from around the world sent him congratulatory messages.
It was probably unprecedented for a first-term congressman to receive so many congratulations.
President Jo Hyung-geun regretted that he was an independent, but understood.
“You must be busy with research and business management, so it must be hard to do political activities. I understand. But at least greet the other congressmen. They will all be helpful later.”
He didn’t need any connections with the congressmen in the future, but he decided to do the minimum courtesy.
When he showed a passive attitude, some veterans criticized him.
But they had to lower their voices enough.
In South Korea, Yu Ji-ha’s position was, in a way, higher than the president.
He added his name to the list of public officials in South Korea.
“I guess I’ve laid the minimum foundation. Let’s move on to the next phase.”
That was North Korea’s provocation.