January 10, 2024, 11:00

  B2 bunker (Operation Briefing Room, Joint Command and Control Center, ROK Armed Forces), Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Namju

  In the basement bunker of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Shin Sung-yong, all commanders and staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Minister of National Defense Kang Yi-sik, who had just arrived, were seated in the operation meeting room. After the commanders of the 1st Field Army and the 2nd Rapid Reactions Corps had been connected through video call, Director Kang Ki-won of the Foreign Intelligence Service came up to the podium and began the briefing.

  Director of the National Intelligence Service, Lee Young-jin had reported to the president yesterday regarding the Japanese cabinet’s national security meeting and the serious situation taking place in the EU. The next morning, he called the high-ranking officials at the director level together for a meeting about what should be done in response to what had happened. After the meeting was over, a director-level official was dispatched to share this information with the relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense.

  This was the reason why Director Kang Ki-won of the Foreign Intelligence Department was to visit both the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of staff in person for a briefing.

  “This is the information collected by the National Intelligence Service so far. This concludes the briefing.”


  After finishing, Director Kang Ki-won went back to his seat after coming out to the side of the podium and giving a light bow. Director Yang Min-choon went up to the podium soon after.

  “Thank you for your work, Director Kang!” Director Yang Min-choon took the microphone and first said a word of thanks to Director Kang before beginning the full-fledged meeting.

  “As you all have heard, something that we didn’t expect happened in Japan and Europe. In addition, we are currently facing difficulties in battles with New China because they are using their own people as human shields. Therefore, today’s meeting will be divided into these three main parts.” Head of Operations Yang Min-choon briefly explained the outline of today’s meeting. He turned to look at the screen and continued.

  “First, we’ll start with the situation regarding Japan. Currently, Japan has a total of 60,000 security forces that are inferior in power compared to the general infantry. Of these men, 40,000 are in Honshu, and 20,000 are in Tokyo, the location where the Japanese activists will be promoting the Declaration of Independence for Japan.”


  “If it’s only 20,000 men, aren’t the 1st Marine Division forces garrisoned in Tokyo enough to suppress them?” Vice Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Youn Gi-youn blurted out with an expression that suggested this wasn’t that big of a deal.

  “Yes, as the Vice Chairman has said, even if all 60,000 security forces were to gather in Tokyo, the 1st Marine Division would be sufficient enough to take care of them. But the problem here is America. The key here is how big of a force America will be providing to Japan.”


  “That’s true, but will the Americans openly support them with a large force?”


  “Rather than deciding that they won’t, I believe it’ll be necessary to anticipate and prepare for the worst-case scenario.”


  “Mm, I see. Got it,” nodded Vice Chairman Youn Gi-youn in agreement.

  Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Shin Sung-yong, who had been listening until now, looked over to the right at Lieutenant General Lim Kyung-soo, also the Commander of the Marine Corps, and opened his mouth to speak. “I completely agree with what the head of operations has said. What do you think, Lieutenant General Lim?”


  “Currently the 5th Marine Division that was stationed in Osaka, Honshu, and the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Marine Division that was garrisoned in Tokyo, has been sent to Hokkaido as supporting forces. Even so, I don’t think there will be any issues in taking care of Japanese security forces, even if there are 100,000 of them. But as the head of operations has said, if the chance of the American Army being involved is 100 percent, we must prepare careful countermeasures.” Although he was a three-star general, Lieutenant General Lim Kyung-soo replied with a polite and confident manner that could commonly be seen from Marines.

  “Great! Then to what extent of intervention of the American Army can the current 1st and 5th divisions handle?”


  Lieutenant General Lim Kyung-soo took some time to think before answering the key question of Chairman Shin Sung-yong. “It’s hard to say accurately at this moment, but I believe up to four divisions.”


  “What’s the standard?”


  “American Marine divisions.”


  “What if mechanized divisions are included?”


  “If mechanized divisions are included, our two divisions will be overwhelmed.”


  “I see. Thanks for your insight. Lieutenant General Oh!” This time, Chairman Shin Sung-yong called for the Head of the Intelligence Division.

  “Yes, Chairman!”


  “Mobilize all forces available and gather information of the movements of the Pacific Fleet, Guam, and Hawaii. Share that information in real-time with Brigadier General Yang and Lieutenant General Lim.”


  “Yes, sir.”


  Chairman Shin Sung-yong then turned his head to the left, and this time looked at Lieutenant General Yang Min-choon, the head of operations, and continued to speak without hesitation. “Lieutenant General Yang and Lieutenant General Lim, establish a defense plan for Honshu together based on the information Lieutenant General Oh collects and provides. As you’ve stated before, take the worst-case scenario into account and prepare additional troops. Above anything else, we’ll need to cooperate secretly with Director Kang. Always keep your communication channels open so you can be in touch at any given moment.”


  “Yes, sir.”


  “Then can we prepare for the situation in Japan in real-time and move on to the next topic?”


  As the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff took the lead in the meeting, everyone responded with an agreeing look to their eyes.

  “Good! Let’s move on to the EU case then.”


  “Yes, sir. We will be moving on to the EU case then. As Director Kang briefed, the EU member states have proposed the economic sanctions against the Republic of Korea and the involvement of NATO forces. Currently, these cases have been transferred to the Summit Board meeting. The date of the Summit Board meeting hasn’t been decided yet, but if American influence affects it more than we expect, then the date could be as fast as less than 10 days away. If those cases are passed in the Summit Board meeting, then we might be looking at a new war with the NATO forces, at least 10 days from now.” Lieutenant General Yang Min-choon summarized the EU case briefly and clearly. For a moment, the operation meeting room was silent.

  The NATO forces, which were allied forces under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, were not a part of the EU (the European Union). The NATO forces were a multinational army with the largest force and greatest history in the world. The leader of this force, of course, was the United States of America. However, most of the NATO nations were EU member states as well, so the Summit Board meeting often decided on policies and important matters regarding the NATO forces.

  “If the NATO forces do go to war with the Republic of Korea, the war will be escalated to World War III. No matter how strong America’s influence is, would the heads of the EU member states make such an erroneous decision?” Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Yong-hyun, who had been silent all this time, opened his mouth.

  “I also think that it’s something that could never happen.” Chief of Staff of the Aerospace Defence Forces, Captain Choi Jin-gook, also shook his head in denial.

  “I also think that it isn’t likely, but I don’t think we should judge so quickly. We should come up with at least some kind of countermeasure,” Captain Kim Eun-ho, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, expressed his opinion in a worried voice.

  Director Kang Ki-won, who was listening in the back, raised his hand, saying, “May I add something?”


  “Sure, of course. Please go ahead.”


  “Ah, Thank you, Lieutenant General Yang! I didn’t mention it in the briefing a few moments back, but currently, the U.S. has done a lot of work on the EU member states behind the scenes, using the power of various intelligence agencies, including the CIA. Just yesterday, three countries turned over to the side of America. Our National Intelligence Service is also working on it. They’ve predicted that, but most of the EU member states, who are friendly towards America, will eventually side with America.”


  “Then are you expecting the proposal to be passed at the Summit Board meeting?” asked Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Yong-hyun with a look of disbelief.

  “Yes, I am.”


  “Heh heh, it’s like everyone’s gone crazy…”


  “We don’t need anything else. Regardless of whether it’s the NATO forces or the American Army, if they try to attack us unknowing of what they should be afraid of, we need to teach them to be afraid of us. We should take this opportunity to correct international order,” yelled Vice Chairman Youn Gi-youn as he pounded the table.

  At this, Chairman Shin Sung-yong, continued with the meeting’s topic as if he had made a decision. “Mm, if the National Intelligence Service is predicting that, we need to think about countermeasures. Okay, let’s share some of our opinions assuming that NATO forces will intervene in the war.”


  “I think there isn’t much to worry about even if NATO forces do intervene in the war against us.”


  The current head of the Strategic Planning Division, Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang, stood up and opened his mouth. He was previously the commander of the Marine Corps and had been listening silently during the meeting.

  “What is your rationale?

  “The NATO forces have been continuing to undergo disarmament due to the decrease of funds. There are several headquarters in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, but most of them aren’t in operation. In addition, the front lines we’ll have to face against NATO forces will only be a small fraction. NATO isn’t in a situation to form a large fleet to reach our territory. War is money. Who, among the NATO member states, would spend the astronomical amount of war costs to build that large fleet? For these reasons, we can expect that the area of engagement with NATO forces will be in southern Russia.”


  Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang continued his explanation without hesitation as if he had prepared what to say beforehand.

  “But it won’t be easy to send NATO troops here, as well. If NATO forces do decide to attack southern Russia, there are only three land routes. One is through Ukraine. Ukraine doesn’t have that good of a relationship with the EU, and because they’re currently waging war against Russia with us, they’ll never allow NATO forces to pass through to attack. Another is Turkey. Turkey is our ally. Even though they’re an EU member state, they’re on the side of the opposition regarding the proposed case of NATO intervening in the war, so they, too, won’t allow NATO forces to attack through this route. The last land route is west Russia. This land route, however, is very close to Russia’s capital, Moscow. Even if, in the Korean-Russian war, NATO forces are there to help Russia, would Russia allow NATO forces to pass under their capital, Moscow? Knowing Putin, he will not allow it. Therefore, there is no land route for NATO forces to pass through. The only option they have is to pass through the Black Sea to place NATO troops in southern Russia.”


  All of the commanders and staff in the operating room were surprised by his considerable analytical ability.

  “It is very difficult to transport combat troops using just naval power. As a result, even if NATO wants to send a large troop to southern Russia, it’ll be difficult due to the circumstances. Thus, even if we calculate the maximum amount of troops they can send, five divisions would be the limit. And even so, they would be unable to transport those five divisions all at once, and would have to send them over several transporting operations.”


  Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang paused explaining for a moment, cleared his throat a few times, and continued with his explanation. “To organize what I’ve explained so far, the time when NATO forces can be dispatched to southern Russia is after the decision has been made at the Summit Board meeting. If counting the 10 days until the meeting, plus preparation time, it’ll take them at least one month. A month is enough time for us to finish dispatching the 3rd Marine Mobile Division in Ukraine and occupy the entirety of southern Russia together with the three brigades of the Peace Units. If we were to look at it in a more positive light, the time may even be enough for the Korean-Russian war to end. For these reasons, I believe that we don’t have to worry as much about the intervention of NATO in the war.”


  After finishing his explanation, Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang sat down in his seat. Applause erupted from everywhere.

  “Lieutenant General Lee! That was an in-depth analysis of your own. Thank you for your explanation.” Chairman Shin Sung-yong clapped lightly. He seemed to also have enjoyed the explanation.

  “Right. I see you in a new light now, Lieutenant General Lee!”


  “Haha, it wasn’t much.” Upon receiving praise from his superior, Lieutenant General Lee Hoon-sang rubbed the back of his head, smiling shyly.

  “Now! What do all the others think?” Chairman Shin Sung-yong asked, in case there were any other opinions. He looked around at the commanders and staff sitting in the room.

  At this, Captain Lee Gi-hyung, the Chief of Naval Operations, expressed his doubt. “I agree with the previous opinion. However, I think it is still an unknown whether Turkey will not allow land routes, as Lieutenant General Lee has said.”


  “That is true! We’ll have to make some effort regarding that from our end, as well,” said Chairman Shin Sung-yong with a slightly concerned expression on his face……