Chương 573: Chapter 573: And That’s How I Made It Here
The meeting with Kim Jong-il took place the very next day.
At the same time Jang Seong-taek was discussing matters with Myeong-su, I was on my way to Pocheon with a man Jang Seong-taek had assigned as my guide.
How far had we driven north from Pyongyang?
Checkpoints began appearing along the road.
After being stopped and questioned seven times, we finally arrived at the villa where Kim Jong-il was staying.
The man who brought me bowed slightly, signaling that he would stop there.
"I'll wait outside."
No matter how much Jang Seong-taek trusted his people, he wouldn't allow me to meet Kim Jong-il.
People were bound to emerge wanting to use Kim Jong-il for their own purposes.
"Understood."
Only Manager Ma and I headed inside the villa.
As I opened the door, I noticed several men and women gathered in the living room.
'It's Kim Jeong-un's family.'
Kim Jeong-un and his brother Kim Jong-chul were there too.
"W-who are you?"
Kim Jong-chul asked in a trembling voice as he looked at me, who had entered without a word.
"I'm here from Korea to meet Chairman Kim Jong-il. Where is he?"
"From South Korea?"
I nodded in reply.
"Yes. I'm Kim Mu-hyeok."
Upon hearing my name, Ko Yong-hui reacted violently. She seemed to know who I was.
"Y-you!!"
Seeing her point a finger at me, I couldn't help but smirk.
"You know me?"
"Because of you, Comrade Chairman…"
I shook my head. With her mouth running off like that, it didn't look like she'd last much longer.
"Don't say it's my fault. Everything comes down to Kim Jong-il's karma."
"You little worm…!"
Ko Yong-hui trembled with rage. I ignored her and turned to ask the others.
"Where's Chairman Kim Jong-il?"
Kim Jeong-un, who had been quietly observing me, replied.
"What exactly do you want to discuss with our father?"
"Well, he's someone I've known for quite a while… I thought I'd stop by to see him since I was visiting Pyongyang."
"Are you here to kill him?"
Seeing his bold demeanor, the image of Kim Jeong-un as portrayed in news reports from my previous life overlapped in my mind.
The infamous prodigal who had killed his uncle Jang Seong-taek with a mortar.
The embodiment of desire, willing to assassinate even his half-brother for his own power.
But the Kim Jeong-un in front of me was simply a young man just over the age of twenty.
"What would I gain from killing him? I just came to talk."
"We haven't received any instructions from Uncle. Yet still…"
"I get it. You're confused as to why I, an ordinary South Korean with no position, am here, right?"
Kim Jeong-un closed his mouth, glaring at me. I understood why he was reacting this way.
One could not meet Kim Jong-il without Jang Seong-taek's consent.
But I had instructed Seong-taek not to inform Kim Jong-il about my visit.
It was because I wanted to see the raw form of Kim Jong-il.
"…"
"Don't worry. I got permission from Vice Chairman Jang Seong-taek to be here. I won't take too long. Where is Chairman Kim Jong-il?"
No one answered. Just then, a voice came from upstairs.
"That's enough. Let him up."
"Father!"
It was Kim Jong-il.
Though his family called out to him, Kim Jong-il turned and walked further inside.
I slowly ascended the stairs and followed him into the room he entered, closing the door behind me.
The study revealed bottles of liquor carelessly strewn across the floor.
Cigarette butts were piled high in the ashtray.
"It's been a while, Chairman Kim Jong-il."
"It's been a while, Mr. Kim."
He looked somewhat haggard, but his gaze was sharp.
Kim Jong-il, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, watched me and asked,
"What is it? Did you come to mock me without any notice?"
Instead of responding, I slowly walked over and sat down. Manager Ma stood behind me.
"I just came to visit Pyongyang out of old acquaintance. How could I mock the Chairman?"
Kim Jong-il lifted the glass in front of him and downed its contents in a single gulp.
Setting the empty glass down, he said flatly,
"I should have killed you back then. If I had, I wouldn't be suffering this humiliation now."
"Well, if you had killed me back then… North Korea would probably be ruined."
"Ha! What kind of confidence is that? Do you think they would have moved just because you were dead?"
I shrugged. Yeah, the U.S. probably wouldn't have moved.
"True, the U.S. wouldn't have. But Russia would have. They wouldn't let such a great opportunity slip by. There's a strong justification for it. By the time the Soviet Union collapsed, a nuclear weapon had secretly flowed into North Korea through Vladivostok. Did you think no one was aware of that?"
"…"
"You didn't think it would leave no traces, did you? It's a nuclear weapon, after all. They'd surely track where it went. At first, there was uncertainty. All traces pointed to North Korea, but there was no evidence whatsoever. But don't major powers shrug off evidence, right? Just look at Iraq. If they believe it, then it's true."
Mentioning Iraq caused Kim Jong-il's eyebrows to twitch.
Even with thorough verification by a UN team, the U.S. still claimed that weapons of mass destruction existed.
The pretext for the U.S. invasion of Iraq was based on fabricated weapons of mass destruction.
Yet no country dared to object.
Some nations didn't want to get on the U.S.'s bad side, while others sought their own interests.
That's how international politics worked.
Powerless cries end up being empty. In the end, decisions are made by the major powers' rationale.
"I get it. That's how international politics works. That's why I could trust no one. Be it China or the Soviet Union. Power is a necessity! That's why we needed nuclear weapons… for the Republic…"
For the Republic, huh? I couldn't help but chuckle involuntarily.
"Don't give me that talk of 'for the Republic.' You simply made that choice to protect your own kingdom. If you were genuinely for the Republic and the people, you should have reformed and opened up like China. You had ample opportunity."
"…"
"Wasn't it the Chairman who squandered that opportunity? I wanted to collaborate with the Chairman on several endeavors. But…"
As I spoke, my emotions began to swell, making me take a breath.
Manager Ma placed a hand on my shoulder, as if to calm me.
I glanced at him before returning my gaze to Kim Jong-il.
"You fired a gun at one of my people. That was the moment. I realized I could not work with you. I can't turn my back, or I'll get stabbed later. And that's how I made it here."
Kim Jong-il glared at Manager Ma with wide-open eyes.
"You mean to say you caused all this over one subordinate? You little brat! Are you out of your mind?"
Kim Jong-il's lips quivered.
"My belief is to protect my people, my own until the end."
Kim Jong-il let out a hollow laugh, looking at me and Manager Ma back and forth in disbelief.
For such a trivial reason, it must be bewildering.
But it was the truth. Had Kim Jong-il not behaved that way, things could have gone differently.
Being a dictator does not mean that cooperation cannot exist.
If we had maintained a good relationship, I could have conducted business with Kim Jong-il.
In fact, I had made efforts to do so, even negotiating with the U.S. on his behalf.
However, Kim Jong-il refused to mend his ways, attempting to act on his own.
"Well, what's the point of discussing such matters now? The outcome is already decided, and it can't be reversed."
Kim Jong-il filled his glass again. I noticed a slight tremble in his fingers.
"That's exactly what I mean. Why did you come here? Just tell me what you want."
"Have you genuinely given up on everything?"
A self-deprecating smile creased Kim Jong-il's face.
"With all my limbs severed, what can I do?"
"But you can't dismiss the influence of being Kim Il-sung's son, can you? Thanks to that, you've gained power."
"Mr. Kim, do you believe I truly occupy this position due to my father's halo? I killed all my rivals with my own hands to seize power."
While it was true that Kim Jong-il had eliminated his rivals to gain power, it was also possible due to his lineage and Kim Il-sung's acquiescence and support.
As I remained silent, gazing at him, Kim Jong-il spoke first.
"…What exactly do you want to say?"
"I intend to call Vice Chairman Jang Seong-taek to Seoul. I'll hold a trilateral meeting involving South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S. There, I'll propose lifting the UN sanctions. That's the only way forward for North Korea."
"And why are you telling me this? Isn't it Jang Seong-taek's responsibility?"
That's a valid point. But I was sharing it due to some concerns.
"The Vice Chairman was worried. He thought while he was away from Pyongyang, the Chairman might take action. Or that someone else might stage a coup in your name. That's the concern."
"…You little brat. How can you be so paranoid and still function? Don't worry about that. I'm done caring."
Was Kim Jong-il being serious? I checked his eyes and actions as I asked.
"Are you being serious?"
"I've lived my life on a knife's edge for decades. Now that Jang Seong-taek has left me alive, I should be grateful, shouldn't I?"
"Hmm…"
Kim Jong-il replied flatly. His expression looked bitter, yet I couldn't read any lies from him.
"Go tell Jang Seong-taek that he should just keep his promise to me. Then I won't harbor any ulterior motives."
Keep his promise, huh? I figured that meant if he cooperated, his and his family's lives would be spared.
"You really mean that."
"Yes. As you said, it's already too late. If I attempt to regain power… well, whether I succeed or fail, there'll be bloodshed."
"You're not the kind of person who would fear such consequences, are you? Given how much blood has stained your hands?"
With a sigh, Kim Jong-il shook his head.
"I'm not confident in gambling with my family's lives. My family comes first."
He despised Kim Sung-ae, Kim Il-sung's third wife, and loathed her children.
Yet, in the end, he didn't kill anyone. He merely sent them abroad, ensuring they would never step foot in North Korea again.
Even if that meant dealing with his rival, Kim Pyeong-il.
I nodded.
"Then I'll trust you and call for Vice Chairman Jang Seong-taek to Seoul."
With that, I rose from my seat.
There was nothing more to gain from speaking with someone who had given up on everything.
"I'll take my leave now."
Just as I finished my greeting and turned away, Kim Jong-il called after me.
"Mr. Kim!"
I looked back at Kim Jong-il.
"Help Jang Seong-taek a lot."
"I'll do that without you telling me."
Asking me to assist someone who had ousted him felt odd, and I could only smile faintly.
As Kim Jong-il turned to drink, he spoke again.
"But… something feels off."
"What do you mean?"
"Just before the UN sanctions were passed, someone from the Russian Embassy contacted me secretly, wanting to meet."
"The Russian Embassy?"
Why would someone from the Russian Embassy want to meet me? Perhaps sensing my confusion, Kim Jong-il chuckled lightly.
"So we met without anyone knowing. Before the meeting, I thought he was a messenger from the Russian president. Turns out, he wasn't."
"…What was he trying to discuss so secretively?"
I gently pressed Kim Jong-il as he raised one corner of his mouth.
"He said they could block the UN Security Council resolution and wanted us to join hands."
"…"
"I asked if that was the Russian president's real intention."
Had the Kremlin changed their minds? My throat felt parched.
"But he denied it, saying I should join hands before he would tell me who he really was. So I declined."
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực