Still can't figure out the situation?
The headquarters building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Korea.
Not only members of the Politburo but also lower-level officials gathered to hold an emergency expanded meeting of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea.
The complexions of everyone present were dark without exception.
"What the heck is this?"
"Shh. Be quiet."
Two junior executives sat and whispered.
"You can't even say anything?"
"You have to read the mood. If you don't, you might get dragged away without anyone knowing."
One of the lower-ranking officers looked around, scolding the grumbling man.
Over there, in the distance, I saw Choe Ryong Hae sitting in front.
"Can you see? What is Comrade Director of the General Political Bureau, who enjoyed the power to even bring down birds from the sky, doing now?"
Perhaps hearing the gossip around him, Choe Ryong Hae had his head bowed and was unable to raise it.
"Comrade Chairman of the State Affairs Commission is entering!"
At the sound of Jang Song-taek entering, everyone stood up from their seats.
From that point on, the Politburo members began to take their positions.
Jang Song-taek walked in slowly, glanced at Choe Ryong-hae, and then sat down.
Only after the Politburo members who followed Jang Song-taek took their seats did all the people below the podium take their seats.
Jang Song-taek, sitting alone in the center, began to preside over the meeting.
He started off with a strong tone.
"Our role is to unite the entire party, the entire army, and the entire movement as one and enrich the lives of the people. However, reactionary elements who could not accept my profound intentions staged an armed demonstration in Pyongyang."
Only Jang Song-taek's voice resonated in the conference room.
The people present listened intently to his words without making a sound.
Jang Song-taek looked around at those people and scolded them for a long time.
"Do you all know how hard I work to run the country on your behalf? Did I say I would eat well and live well on my own? If I had, I wouldn't be here!"
Jang Song-taek, who had been reprimanding everyone, finally began to directly mention Choe Ryong-hae.
"Is it possible that Comrade Choe Ryong Hae, whom I trust the most, would point a gun at me, who works day and night to ensure that the people eat and live well? Tell me, Comrade Choe Ryong Hae."
"······."
"You say you rose up for the people? How can you say such nonsense with such audacity? I trusted you and put you in charge of the General Political Bureau! I put you in that position to watch over reactionaries! And yet you dare to gather reactionaries and plot to kill me!"
Jang Song-taek, whose emotions were agitated, slammed the desk hard.
bang!
In the conference room where silence had flowed, the sound of a desk being slammed loudly echoed.
The cadres surrounding Choe Ryong-hae flinched at the sound.
Advertisements
People held their breath at the sight of Jang Song-taek looking more agitated than usual.
"Speak up! Where are you going to start talking with that smart mouth! Comrade Choe Ryong Hae! Did I do something wrong to you? Is that why you did such a thing in Pyongyang, of all places, to kill me?"
If it were as before, Choe Ryong Hae would have been sitting on the podium next to Jang Song Thaek, looking down at the podium with a confident face.
But today, he was sitting under the stage with his head bowed and not saying a word.
Jang Song-taek's reprimand continued for a long time. No one could stop him.
Jang Song-taek, who had been pouring out his anger and reproach, cleared his throat.
Then he called the security guards from the Security Service who were waiting outside.
"Come in! Take that reactionary bastard away now!"
The council members opened the large doors to the conference room and came in.
The guards walked forward confidently and saluted Jang Song-taek.
Jang Song-taek nodded with a solemn expression and greeted them.
The guards, who had finished saluting in their respective positions, spoke to Choe Ryong Hae.
"Get up, Comrade Choe Ryong Hae."
Choe Ryong-hae stood up, struggling with his hands on the table.
As he got up, the guards grabbed him by both arms and roughly dragged him into the passageway.
Choe Ryong-hae's face was haggard but had no wounds.
However, judging from his movements, which made it difficult to walk properly, he was not in normal condition.
The cadre standing next to him pretended not to see Choe Ryong-hae and just looked straight ahead, and the rest of the people just watched him without taking any action.
Choe Ryong-hae was finally driven out of the conference room by the guards.
From then on, the conference room became a place to denounce Choe Ryong-hae and his party.
Starting with the standing committee members on the podium, one after another came forward to denounce Choe Ryong Hae.
* * *
I was watching the breaking news broadcast from Korean Broadcasting in my study.
― It has been confirmed that General Political Bureau Director Choe Ryong-hae, who was ousted for anti-party and counter-revolutionary sectarianism, was dragged out after attending an expanded meeting of the Workers' Party Political Bureau held yesterday.
The screen that was showing the announcer changed. The screen showed a photo of Choe Ryong Hae being arrested, released by Korean Central TV.
"It ended up like this."
As I continued to watch the breaking news, the broadcast began to broadcast the voice of a North Korean Central TV announcer.
― Recently, reactionary elements embedded in one side of the party have attempted to castrate the party's leader at a critical time in the succession of the Juche revolutionary cause, while expanding their power through factional maneuvers and daring to challenge the party. The great leader Comrade Jang Song-taek pointed this out as follows:
It was refreshing to hear the booming voice of the announcer of Korean Central TV in the middle of Seoul.
― Choe Ryong Hae and his group have committed anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts that have undermined the party's reforms and the work of Comrade Jang Song Thaek, who made the decision to save the country for the people, and have committed anti-state and anti-humanitarian crimes that have undermined the construction of a strong country and the improvement of the people's living standards.
The announcer began to list Choe Ryong-hae's crimes one by one.
The charges he was talking about were far more than I knew.
They were attaching all sorts of things to him, even bringing up his dirty private life, in an attempt to destroy his humanity.
― Discussions were held at the expanded meeting of the Politburo.
At the same time, the images of party officials criticizing Choe Ryong-hae at an expanded meeting of the Politburo were shown on the screen.
Advertisements
― Our Party will not forgive even the slightest person, regardless of position or merit, who abandons the principles of reform and openness, challenges Comrade Jang Song-taek's leadership, and infringes upon the interests of the Party, the state, and the people.
The footage from North Korea's Central TV ended, and the screen returned to the broadcast station's announcers.
― Let's have a conversation with a North Korea expert about the recent purge of Choe Ryong-hae.
A representative of a group of defectors who defected from North Korea a long time ago and have been calling for human rights in North Korea in South Korea was talking to me about this situation.
― This purge of Choe Ryong-hae was already expected. Jang Song-taek is no different from Kim Jong-il. The nobleman who used to protect Kim Jong-il is now saying that he is working for the people.
He was talking nonsense for a long time. He was criticizing Jang Song-taek by lumping him with Kim Jong-il.
"You say you're an expert, but you don't know much and you're running wild like a calf with its tail on fire."
I couldn't help but laugh out loud because it was so absurd.
Well, to him, Kim Jong-il and Jang Song-taek are just like each other.
But a lot has changed in North Korea.
It's ridiculous for him, who defected a long time ago and doesn't know anything about the situation in North Korea, to act like an expert.
"Boss, we must leave now."
At Director Ma's call, I got up from my seat and turned off the television.
"Let's go."
I took a car and transferred to a boat in Incheon.
After quite a long journey across the sea, I was able to reach my own island located at the southern end of the West Sea.
All the islands in this vicinity were purchased long ago.
They bought all the large and small islands in an area of the West Sea where there are many uninhabited islands.
And it was used as a place to confine someone without killing them.
We landed on the largest island surrounded by smaller islands.
After a short drive, we arrived at the center of the island.
I headed towards the only entrance, surrounded by barbed wire without a single gap.
"Open."
As soon as Director Ma rolled down the window and showed his face, the door that had been tightly shut opened.
As we drove a little further inside, a large house appeared.
"I guess this is it."
"Yes, that's right."
I got out of the car and looked around. It was the place I had ordered to be built, but it was my first time coming here in person.
The security around the mansion was tight.
Dogs locked in cages were barking, and men could be seen wandering around.
"Once you enter, you cannot leave without permission."
"Good. You made it just as I thought."
I went inside with Manager Ma with a satisfied smile on my face.
"Boss. I am the person in charge of this place."
"Hello, boss!"
Advertisements
Director Ma introduced a man, and I nodded and vaguely accepted the man's greeting.
"What about that person?"
"It's on the second floor. I'll bring it down."
The manager glanced at the man guarding the stairs.
The man who had been stared at quickly climbed the stairs.
After a while, he came down dragging a gaunt-looking man.
The man who was dragged down continued to speak in Chinese.
"What the heck! Where the hell am I! Our promise is broken!"
I frowned without realizing it at the voice that was so loud it hurt my ears.
The person in charge, who had been observing his appearance, quickly brought him in front of me and made him kneel.
Meanwhile, the man was twisting his body and screaming.
"What! Let go! Let go! Do as you promised!"
I asked him in Chinese.
"What did we promise?"
Only then did he raise his head and look at my face, speaking fluent Chinese.
"who is this!"
"Who is it? He's the one who's going to decide your life. So you better watch what you say. If one person dies here, no one will know. There won't even be a body left behind."
When I spoke with a soft smile, the man flinched.
This was because the grim warning and the eerie sounds coming from outside were strangely combined.
"Who, who are you? Why are you doing this to me! Money? Do you need money? If you let me go······."
"What are you talking about? I brought you to Korea to protect you. If it weren't for me, you would have been arrested by the Chinese police."
"What? Chinese police? That can't be. They're arresting me? How dare they arrest this Lai Changxing?"
Laichangxing, kneeling in front of me, glared at me as if telling me not to lie.
I brought him to Korea and kept him here in confinement.
He seemed confident that the Chinese police would not try to catch him.
"Is that really so? President Hu Jintao asked me to hand you over."
"What? Hu Jintao? Is that true?"
Instead of answering, I nodded and spoke to Director Ma.
"Sir, please bring me two chairs."
Director Ma soon brought a chair, and I sat down on the chair he brought and said.
"Let me go."
The person in charge who had been pressing down on Raichangxing's shoulder took his arm away and stepped back.
"Shall we sit down and talk?"
"······I get it now. You are the person named Kim Mu-hyeok."
He slowly got up and glared at me as if he was going to kill me.
Advertisements
"This is a broken promise! You said you would protect me. Where the hell are my family?!"
I didn't answer. Instead, I frowned again at the ear-piercing sound.
At that moment, Director Ma punched him in the stomach while he was screaming.
"evil!"
A heavy sound was heard. Laichangxing screamed and bent his back as the fist hit him directly.
"Lai Changxing. Can't you assess the situation yet?"
Outside the window, only the eerie sound of dogs barking could be heard, and the men surrounding him were glaring at him without saying a word.
He was now exposed to sudden violence and was trapped in an unknown place.
In the naturally heavy atmosphere, Raichangxing barely managed to raise his head and look at me.
"I told you. Be careful what you say. If you do something wrong, you'll die."
Laichangxing, who had been breathing heavily, straightened his back again and gritted his teeth.
"Do you think you can get away with doing this to me? Do you even know who I am?"
"I don't know. That's why I brought you here to find out. So sit down. Well, if you want to continue the body conversation, you can."
Director Ma approached Raichangxing again.
At that action, Raichangxing stretched out his hand and spoke urgently.
"Oh, I got it. I got it. Please say it, say it."
As Raichangxing cried, Chief Ma looked at me.
I nodded slightly, and Director Ma stepped back again.
"Sit down. This is the last one."
Raichangxing walked with unsteady steps and sat down on the chair.
"Wouldn't it be better to have a drink and chat?"
"Coffee! Give me coffee."
Laichangxing shouted in an earnest voice. He must have really wanted to drink it, since he said it twice for emphasis.
After a while, one of the servants came out carrying a tray with two paper cups.
As I picked up a paper cup and gestured, Laichangxing quickly picked up the paper cup.
Laichangxing's expression became subtle as he checked the contents with a happy face.
"What is this? What color is this coffee?"
What was in the paper cup was coffee mix.
"Is there anything else? What kind of coffee is this?"
"Just eat. If the story ends well, you can eat whatever you want."
At those words, Raichangxing's eyes lit up.
"What is it? Why are you asking me this? The money I brought from China?"
I drank the hot coffee in one gulp and then crushed the paper cup.
Then he locked eyes with Raichangxing and raised the corners of his mouth.
"I'm not interested in that kind of money. Instead, tell me about Jiang Zemin's weaknesses that you have in your hands."
Advertisements
< Still can't figure out the situation? > End