October 5, 2020, 14:00

  Ministry of Foreign Affairs guest reception room, Pyeong yang, North Korea.

  Le Jin Jun of the Chinese embassy in North Korea furrowed his brow and glared at Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Dong-gyu of North Korea.

  “When did North Korea ignore China and plan such a scheme?” he said.

  “Scheme? Is that how you define it?”


  The arrogant Lee Jin Jun, who had been waving his hands back and forth, shoved the document containing the contents of the Chinese-North Korean Formal Amity across the table to Minister Kang Dong-gyu, and then spoke louder than before. “59 years have passed since North Korea made the Chinese-North Korean Formal Amity. Then you unify with South Korea without any consultation with our friendly nation? Do you realize you’re violating clause four of our amity?”


  “The fourth clause? The matter of unification with South Korea is not an international one. Two nations of the same people want to unify again. How is that an international matter? You’re violating the fifth clause of the Chinese-North Korean Formal Amity yourself, ambassador, which is interference in domestic affairs.”


  “Interference in domestic affairs? Since when is the unification of two independent nations not an international affair? If you keep acting in this way, then China will not let North Korea continue.”


  Slam!

  Ambassador Lee Jin Jun had slammed the table and spoke threateningly.

  “Ambassador Lee Jin Jun, North Korea will soon make amendments to the amity we made with China. When we do, the amity will no longer be valid, so stop making so much noise about this matter.”


  “Amendments? You must not be heeding my words. North Korea should start preparing for our actions.”


  Slam!

  When he heard that amendments would made to the amity, Ambassador Lee Jun Jin figured there would be no use continuing the conversation. He kicked his seat, then pointed to Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Dong-gyu, yelled at him, and then kicked open the door to leave. The minister looked at the door slam behind the Chinese ambassador and then muttered to himself while smiling.

  “D*mn, that is one loud bastard.”


  * * *

  October 12, 2020, 11:00

  Korea

  After the announcement of the federal unification between North and South Korea on October 1, the nation rapidly took steps toward their goal through the plans made by Congress. The reason this was possible was because of the National Vision Strategy Committee, which had established policies nine months in advance. The proactive cooperation of North Korea’s leaders also helped.

  First, South and North, when looking at the agreement for federal unification, decided that free democracy would be the political ideology of the nation, and that the name of the nation would be ‘Dae Han Min Gook’ in Korean, and ‘Republic of Corea’ in English. Under the central government rule, North Korea would become the Northern state and South Korea the Southern state, while a federal government would be erected in both states, in Pyeong yang in the North, and in Sejong in the South. Seoul was decided as the capital of the central government.

  Second, according to the separation of powers, the Ministry decided to adopt the current presidential system of Korea, and nominated First Vice-Chairman Kim Yo-jung as Vice President. In addition, both the South and North’s departments would be merged based on the current administrative branch of the Korean government, but the current ministers from South Korea would continue to hold office, while the ones from the North would be appointed as vice-ministers.

  The Ministry of Unification was renamed the Ministry of Unification Policies, and its responsibilities transitioned to all policies related to the federal unification. The Department of Northern State Recovery Industry was changed to a government branch, and it would be responsible for building industrial facilities, roads, schools, hospitals, and other infrastructures North Korea needed.

  Thirdly, based on the separation of powers, the current Congress would maintain its system, but would elect 100 congressmen from the Northern state within a year.

  The last matter was combining the military forces. The basis of the merge would be the integration of South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense with North Korea’s Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces to one Ministry of National Defense, but since North Korea’s army was too large and exceeded the needs of the nation, it was downsized and reorganized so that the new armed forces could take shape. All the soldiers that were discharged due to the downsizing were sent in to work on the Northern State recovery construction project, and only special forces and those wishing to serve long time were inducted into the new armed forces.

  * * *

  October 15, 2020, 09:30

  B2 Bunker, Yongsan-ku, Seoul (ROC Military Joint Command Center).

  There were two months and fifteen days left until the federal unification of the South and North, and the frequency of reports from the Ministry of National Defense to the Blue house was on the rise. This was because of the movements of China’s People’s Liberation Army. Five days ago, when the Chinese ambassador threatened North Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese embassy staff all left North Korea. When the Korean government heard the report, it ordered the Apollo 1 and 2 satellites to watch from the North and Western seas China’s every move. The satellites reported that the Chinese army was moving to the South toward North Korea under the excuse of training exercises.

  The president visited the Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters, the B2 Bunker, in Yongsan with the Minister of National Defense, and was briefed about the Chinese forces’ suspicious movements, which the Apollo reconnaissance satellite had detected.

  “The digital map you’re looking at shows the location of each division under the Northern Army from ten days ago.”


  Brigadier General Hwang Dae-hoon, the strategic officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Headquarters, pointed to the screen, which showed various markings, and began his presentation.

  “We will now look at the next map.” As the strategic officer said this, the screen showed a different digital map. It was the same one, just with different markings.

  “The Apollo reconnaissance satellite took this photo yesterday. Let’s now compare the two maps.”


  The two maps began to overlap on the screen, and other markings in the shape of stars began to blink.

  “You will see stars blinking on the screen. These marks all show that the divisions have different locations from the ones they had ten days ago. In particular, the 39th Army from the Lao Ning state, along with the 40th Army and the 16th Division from the Ji Ring state, have all headed south toward the Ap-rok river.”


  On the digital map on the screen, hundreds of stars moved closer to the direction of the Ap-rok river, showing where the Chinese forces were compared to nine days ago. Most notably, China’s second most powerful force, the 39th Army and its forces, were spread across the shores of the Ap-rok river.

  “Looking at the specialties of each division currently along the Ap-rok river, the forces under the 39th Army are the 9th Army’s aviation brigade, one mechanized division, two vehicle infantry brigades, two mechanized infantry divisions, two light mechanized infantry divisions, and heavy mechanized infantry divisions, which are all mobile. This means they are able to cross the Ap-rok river at any moment and march south. If you would all look here……”


  The Strategic Officer pointed to Qing-de state, which was 140 km away from Beijing in the northeast. Dozens of tightly-knit stars were blinking there.

  “This is the 38th Army, China’s most powerful army, called the Rapid Response Force. We will now look at the reconnaissance footage. The time of recording was 11:00 a.m. yesterday.”


  The blinking stars all enlarged, and the screen divided into multiple images, each showing footage of armored tanks, vehicles, cannons, and other vehicles,

  suggesting that the forces were a mechanized division.

  “This next photo is from the Apollo 2, which conducted reconnaissance on the North and East Sea Fleets.”


  The screen switched to footage of the North and East Fleet destroyers, submarines, and other ships returning to their respective naval bases to reload on ammunition and refuel.

  “According to the analysis by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, China is preparing for war. We will now finish the briefing about the Chinese Northern Army and Navy’s recent actions.”


  Strategic Officer Brigadier General Hwang Dae-hoon saluted the president, then moved to the side of the podium and stood still.

  “Great work. The Chinese military’s movements are suspicious, even to a civilian like me. What do you think, Chairman?”


  “Yes. Considering their movements, we can see it as early preparations for war.”


  “If you say so, then the situation seems to be more serious than we thought.”


  The president leaned back and looked at the screen with his arms crossed. After a dozen or so seconds passed, he asked the chairman, “How should our military respond to this situation?”


  “Can I speak frankly with you, sir?” The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff straightened up and spoke to the president in a serious tone.

  “Of course. Please tell us.”


  “Then I will speak honestly. We must strike first, Mr. President!”


  The President thought he misheard the chairman. He sat closer to the table, then uncrossed his arms, and asked, “Strike first? Strike what first?”


  “China, Mr. President.”


  “We attack China first? Why must we be the one to strike first?”


  The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stood up from his seat, then said in a determined tone, “First, if the Chinese invade by crossing the Ap-rok river, it will be incredibly difficult to defend the North Korean areas. The first reason for this is the North Korean citizens. When we start our defense strategies, the civilians of North Korea will sustain injuries from the battle. If we try to minimize collateral damages, then we would have restrictions on our strategical planning.”


  The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff must have prepared his statement in advance, because he spoke unhesitatingly. “The second reason,” he continued, “is the expected wavering of the North Koreans. China will try to reconcile with the North Korean military commanders. If that happens, we’ll be forced to fight with allies who could change sides at any moment.”


  “Chief of Staff! Do you still think there are commanders in the North Korean military who support China?”


  “I can’t guarantee it, but I’m covering all the bases.”


  “Fine. Please continue.”


  “Lastly, modern warfare is based on firepower. In the early stages of the war, China will rain down powerful firepower using various types of missiles and cannons. If the war occurs on their own turf instead, they will not be able to do that so freely.

  “This is my personal opinion, but our ancestors never attacked another nation first, even though they faced numerous invasions for 5,000 years. People say that this was because our ancestors were a peaceful people who didn’t like fighting. I, however, think differently. They didn’t fight back or attack first because they lacked the power to do so. I would like our country to not be so weak and powerless. Such is my will, Mr. President.”


  “Yes, I understand. Then I would like to ask one more question.”


  “Yes, sir.”


  “How much time do we have left to prepare for China’s invasion of North Korea?”


  “Based on our analysis, China’s forces will be ready to invade in 15 days.”


  The president touched his leg, sighed, and said, “We have less time than expected.”


  “Yes. The time we have left is not long.”


  The president’s heart weighed heavily in his chest. As the leader of the nation, he did not want to bring his own citizens into the spiral of war. In fact, he wanted to avoid war if it was possible. But there was no other choice. He was the leader of the nation and had to make a decision……

  After thinking for a while, the president came back to his senses, then went to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and shook his hand. “I can’t give you a decision right now,” he said, “but please create the best strategy possible. Also, I will give you as much autonomy as possible in establishing your operations.”


  “Thank you, Mr. President.”


  The president firmly shook the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s hand, then leaned in and whispered in his ear. “If war is unavoidable, I would like to show them no mercy.”