Dear Comrade

＜ Chapter 22. The start of the war (2) ＞

Chapter 22. open war (2)

– I will give orders to Comrade Jang Seong-taek as the leader. Let’s start a full re-investigation of the innocent people imprisoned in the correctional center and those imprisoned on the charge of engaging in anti-party and counter-revolutionary acts during the former general. All personal details will be reviewed by me and final approval will be obtained from me. And among those who are unjustly imprisoned or innocent, a pardon order is issued to have them reinstated or freed.

– ……Ah, I got it! But what if it’s embarrassing?

– Those whose crimes are literally different from the actual crimes! As far as I know, the former general… No, now they just openly call him Kim Jong-il. Do you know that there are quite a number of guards officers who went to the correctional center on the absurd charge of ‘counter-revolutionary words and actions’ after divulging about the mistresses living in a special area he often visited during the Kim Jong-il era? Am I wrong?

– …….. As the general secretary knows.

– Such a case is a nobleman, and while the president was alive, when he pointed out my female side, there was a time when he shot and killed a female comrade carrying her own child to avoid getting into his ears? He even recognized his own vehicle late on the road and sent the driver of the vehicle to the correctional center for being late, perhaps. is this right?

– ………………..Yes.

– Ttt, it’s a story we’re talking about, but the title of general is really a pity. Well, you say you can’t cheat on blood, so even if you don’t know who taught you all that, you’ll know what I’m talking about. to act immediately.

– Got it!

– Of course, the real felons and murder robbers should be locked up. Since the number of prisoners has greatly decreased, we should also remove many correctional centers, but I should leave one or two for them.

The general secretary’s instructions were soon documented and became an executive order, and shortly after the first day of the new year, Chosun Central Broadcasting Corporation, Pyongyang TV, and JBS issued large-scale amnesty orders.

It must have been a new year, but the people, who were intoxicated with the excitement that something was about to change with the inauguration of a new supreme leader, cheered with joy when they realized that their expectations had been fulfilled.

– JBS, the broadcast that delivers the voice of the party, secretary, and republic the fastest. Today, the General Secretary announced a large-scale amnesty on the day of his inauguration. As you can see on the screen now, all Pyongyang citizens are flocking to the square and shouting hurrah for the generosity of Comrade General Secretary.

‘Long live Comrade General Secretary! Finally a good world has come to the Republic!’

‘Omani, who went to Kyohwaso, is back…!! It was my only sin to complain that the rations were less than during the days of the former generals… It’s just that I have to go to the general secretary.’

‘Since my brother defected to South Korea, one after another, my family has been flocked to the hostile class with questionable ancestry. Now that I’m going back to my hometown…’

‘Our Abaddy was a university professor, but because he wrote a good history during the time of Lee Jo (李朝) in his book, he was flocked as a reactionary, an enemy of the class that glorifies the wealthy peasant…. Thank you so much, Comrade General Secretary!’

There were many other bizarre ‘reasons for imprisonment’, but this was the most absurd and cruel case.

– Comrade Jang. This comrade here has a good background and passed the party test every time, so why was he sent here to a correctional center in Jagang Province?

– Ah… Go Goi…

– Any problems I’m not aware of?

– Whew…… This comrade is naturally clumsy. Therefore, regardless of his intentions, the Security Council ordered him to be sent to a kyohwaso as it could adversely affect the republic.

– …….haha. This is… a bad influence that has nothing to do with your will… What a great reason for imprisonment.

– I was pitiful for them too, but what can I do, the sky made them that way…

That was the case with the disabled.

Children with various mental and physical disabilities, such as dwarfism, polio, mental retardation, and autism, called the so-called ‘dwarf disease’, were sent to special correctional centers in Hamgyeong-do or Jagang-do, called Ward 49, because ‘we must not pollute the Republic by spreading bad seeds’.

There, they were subjected to harsh labor without adequate rest, as well as contraceptive injections that destroyed their reproductive function.

According to documents and reports from practitioners, the acceptance of these disabled people began in the 1970s, but it peaked about three years ago, that is, in 1986. It is said that the disabled were swept out of Pyongyang to show excellence.

– So, Pyongyang should be a city free of people with disabilities, and in order to promote it outside, all of the remaining disabled comrades were sent to a correctional center in Jongseong, Hamgyeong Province, is this mean?

– That’s right! As Comrade General Secretary is well aware, among the best Korean people in the world, there cannot be a seed with a disability! Such a thing is absolutely impossible!

– ……Okay, go away.

‘Another problem is that there are people who genuinely believe in this outdated eugenics. I thought this would have happened while I was in Japan……’

Even Jeong-hwan, who felt that he had become accustomed to this country, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, through several years of prenatal care, was shocked, even though he was exposed to all these things on paper.

He expected it to be horrific, but there was a tragedy that far exceeded his imagination.

“All I’ve seen so far is new blood. From the point of view of comrade Choi Seung-il, who closes games with numbers such as productivity and profitability, would you think it was a waste of remodeling a special scenic spot and turning it into a sanatorium?”

“No, the General Secretary has truly accomplished an achievement that will remain in the future. I am sure that the spirit of Comrade General Secretary will probably be widely remembered by future generations and will be praised by the people from generation to generation.”

“……Hmm, I thought I wasn’t good at making mouthful sounds, but I guess I’ve been looking at it wrong all this time. Choi Seung-il, comrade?”

Despite Junghwan’s playful teasing, Choi Seungil was still serious.

When the light of sincere admiration and admiration was seen in the eyes embedded in his tough face, Jeonghwan had no choice but to smile for a while.

“I don’t know if you will believe me, but I’m not talking like other party cadres. I have been there before, so I know what a kyohwaso is like. It is a place where children betray their parents and make it easy for a brother to sell his brother. Because it is so cruel.”

“……Yes, I forgot.”

Jeonghwan was embarrassed for a moment and couldn’t open his mouth, but then he smirked.

It was because of seeing the sincerity of Choi Seung-il, who had shown a calculated and harsh attitude until now.

“By the way, what did Comrade Jang Seong-taek not say? Comrade the general manager, I think he would have advised the general secretary that dissatisfied reactionaries will start to increase if the comrades who were in the correctional center are sent out to society.”

“Of course I did. So I answered.”

“……What did you say…”

“I mean, you just have to find someone to overturn and shift the blame. When I showed him the list of shooters, comrade Jang also said he liked it.”

– This is Pyongyang TV, PTV that delivers only the most correct news and the most correct news. People’s viewers, today, a truly astonishing news has been revealed. As a result of the investigation by the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau, it is known that many of the military leaders are responsible for the operation of the reckless correctional center, where innocent people are imprisoned and tortured. Among those involved, it is deplorable that the first-generation partisans and revolutionary elders are also known to be included, adding to the shock.

– Jinwoo Oh! Lee Eulseol! Choi Kwang! light book! It turns out that you guys sent the opposition to the correctional center to get rid of them in order to form a faction! Therefore, the People’s Court, which has been accused of corrupting the Party organization for personal gain and deceiving the Party and the leader, demands the death penalty for all! The judgment will be enforced immediately!

– What a crazy…! Hey, you gangna bastards! Were we free to arrest Amon in the correctional center? With the teachings of Comrade Da-comrade and General…

– How dare you blaspheme the supreme dignity of those who died by making fun of lies with those dirty mouths! Comrade General Secretary directly ordered the death penalty for you guys! drag it out!

– Second, general secretary! My… please…!!!

‘Hmm, well, none of the party officers did not use the kyohwaso for political purposes, so it’s not a very false charge. Of course, it’s a bit heartbreaking to have to pretend that I don’t know the sins of the two people at the center of it.’

Jeonghwan exhorted himself not to be sentimental.

Although he took office as the supreme leader, it is a realistic and political judgment no matter what anyone says that he will have no choice but to use the halo of Kim Il-sung and even Kim Jong-il for the time being.

At least it had to be until his reform and opening-up policy benefited all the people.

“The revolutionary elders and old people who used to help me have become beehives by large machine guns, so now there is no one blocking my path. At the same time, it was a warning to the reactionaries and corrupt elements that might remain in the military. However, when you go, you have contributed to the republic by dedicating yourself to it.”

“…you’re even being adamant. Indeed, the general secretary is a natural born leader.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but I was a little hesitant when I gave the second order.”

“Since you have directly touched the foundation that leads the republic, what can you do? It was inevitable that there was a backlash.”

“Wrong.”

“…….yes? comrade?”

Surprisingly, at Choi Seung-il’s shrugging his shoulders, Jung-hwan decided to make a firm conclusion, but he denied it.

“The foundation that leads the republic is the common people and their productive power, not the military. In particular, it is not a conscription system like a bullshit where young comrades in their 20s, who are active in production capacity, are taken to the army and held in the army for 10 years.”

Choi Seung-il, who could not close his mouth for a while at Jeonghwan’s affirmation, slowly nodded his head to admit his mistake after about 5 seconds.

“…Comrade General Secretary is right. I was wrong. As someone who studied capitalist economics in my own way, I was confident in my heart that I knew the heart of the general secretary, but now that I see it, I am just a foolish citizen of the Republic.”

Choi Seung-il immediately nodded and admitted his mistake.

As Jeonghwan said, the second thing he touched upon after becoming leader was the North Korean conscription system.

After he became leader, the next thing he ordered after the dismantling of the correctional center was to maintain the conscription system at a meeting of the Politburo, but to drastically reduce the period of service.

As North Korea is a byeong-guk-gae that seeks to disarm the entire people, I expected that such an order would cause more backlash than the dismantling of the Kyohwaso, and it was.

– How long is the service period of comrades in the People’s Army?

– According to the regulations, it is 3 years and 6 months, but due to the voluntary sacrifice of all of the lower warriors, on average, they are serving an additional 5 to 8 years! It is a natural attitude to be born as a citizen of the republic, to defend the country and mountains, and to repay the favor of the Party and the leader.

‘It must be very spontaneous.’

After laughing like that inwardly, Jeonghwan gave orders as if cutting with a knife.

– That’s a beautiful long period. If economic development is possible in this state, that would be a miracle. From now on, it will be reduced to three and a half years collectively.

As Choi Seung-il pointed out, this time, a little bit of backlash or friction flowed inside the Politburo meeting table.

But none of the members of the Politburo seated could now openly protest against it.

Until a few days ago, he was ‘only’ the general secretary, but now he is the supreme dignity of the republic, comrade of the supreme leader.

Moreover, there was no one left who dared to vomit his words, even though he knew that the elders of the military who tried to rebel against the general secretary had been executed with machine guns and went to the Hwangcheon-gil.

In the end, it was Hong Gye-seong, who represented the People’s Army, who had the gun.

– Hey… Comrade General Secretary, if you could just give me one word… This decision is to think about it a little more…

– Why are you already worried about the loss of seats for generals and military officers, Chasu Hong?

– To put it bluntly, it’s not that I don’t think so… First of all, the US imperialist and South Korean puppet troops down there are still not losing their ambition to aim for the republic. Of course, I know that your comrades are trying to improve relations with the US imperialists, but… Besides, in a situation where there are many other threats such as riots from reactionaries and threats to the republic, shortening the service life of the fighters is a bit…

Read at readwn.com

Not only Hong Gye-seong, who was unable to deny the pointed-out criticism, but also all members of the Politburo, Jung-hwan declared as if to listen.

– Comrades, do you know how big the difference is between our Republic and South Korea’s defense spending now?

– ………

– No answer. I’ll answer for you. Converted to US dollars, the Republic of Korea is about 2 billion dollars, and South Korean comrades are about 9.4 billion dollars. That’s four times the difference. Don’t ask how much it is for the US. I’m still the Supreme Commander of the People’s Army, but if I say it with my own mouth, I feel miserable!

– …it’s all because of our ignorance! General Secretary Dong…

– I haven’t finished my words yet, so please listen to the end. There’s an old saying, starting with the grandson’s warfare method, there’s a saying that generals of all ages, east and west, say. War is money. A strong army comes from strong finances. do you understand Self-reliance and national defense power means that money is first, money is second, and money is third. The reason the Americans have the highest number of chasers and missiles is that they are the richest in the world. The Soviet comrades who were not able to do so now find it difficult to maintain a country shape, let alone an army. So, do you know what’s going on with our People’s Army?

The tone was quiet, but at Jeonghwan’s words, as if catching a mouse, he pushed the Politburo members and military officers, all the other guests at the table were silent.

It was because there was no one who knew that Junghwan’s words were calm, but that there was a strong anger at the base.

And this time, the target of that anger was Lieutenant General Baek Seung-cheol, who is currently the second-in-command in the People’s Army after Hong Kye-sung.

– Lieutenant General Baek Seung-cheol. Please answer what the most elite of the People’s Army, the lower ranks of the Ryu Kyung-soo Tank Division, are eating now.

– As far as I know, we serve bulgogi every holiday to boost the morale of our warriors and to show the party’s passionate love for the military….

– Fuck it, the liberation of South Korea that screams out loud at the point where it’s not a big deal and it’s proud to serve bulgogi on holidays is no less than drunken bullshit. If I were to answer the previous question instead, the staple food of Ryu Kyung-soo’s tank division’s fighters is corn rice and salted rice. Even the most elite armored divisions, the pride of our People’s Army, are like this, then let’s just imagine what the other fighters would be like.

Again, forever.

Jeonghwan, who had expected such a reaction earlier, watched their reaction for a while, and at the point where he felt he would be depressed if he pushed harder, he softened his tone slightly and opened his mouth again.

– Now I believe you will understand why I’m asking for a shorter service period. What’s the use of dragging more men into the military at a point where you can’t even control the size you have now? It would be better to use it as a labor force in preparation for the upcoming reform and opening up.

– ……..Comrade General Secretary is right.

– Of course, I don’t mean to reduce it right now. Over the next few years, we’re going to discharge those who have served the longest in the order of discharge, and apply the reduced service period to those newly enlisted in the military. And in the end, it should be reorganized into an elite force centered on armored forces.

‘Comrade General Secretary, we are well aware of all the issues you mentioned! How can we not want to feed our fighters well, buy good tanks, chasers, and multiple rocket launchers and bring them to South Korea and the US Empire? I want to buy more, but the foreign currency is not enough, and the party always complains that we lack the skills to make our own.

It was Baek Seung-cheol who wanted to protest, but he kept his mouth shut now, as he is an exemplary general of the Korean People’s Army who knows when to keep his mouth shut and open.

Baek Seung-cheol himself or Hong Gye-seong, who is sighing here and there, is one of the elite among the soldiers of the People’s Army to the point where he went to study in Frunze with the consideration of Kim Il-sung.

They also have brains and judgment, but there is no way that they were completely unaware of the problem Junghwan is pointing out now.

They have been aware of this problem for a long time and have been looking for ways to fix it, but the current reality is that they have given up due to the limitations of reality and their lack of ability and authority.

What can the officers do when the country’s safe is empty?

Fortunately (unlike the previous two), Jeonghwan was not an incompetent boss who only yelled at his subordinates and offered no alternatives.

“Hmm, even though the comrades had a desire for power, the goal wouldn’t be so bad that they didn’t know about such a problem, but I’m worried that the general secretary might hold a grudge in his heart. Anyway, it’s not the comrades’ fault that the republic’s barns are empty.”

“So I gave the third order. In fact, that’s why I called you here today.”

With those words, Jeonghwan now fully started working and occupied a corner of the clerk’s office and pointed to an electronic display board that printed out all kinds of complex graphs and numbers.

“A few days ago, the Nikkei index hit an all-time high. Do you remember?”

“of course. My comrade always told me to keep an eye on the market situation. Didn’t you receive a report from me even the day before the inauguration?”

“The Nikkei index will drop soon. In other words, the time has come to sell the stock futures put options we hold in the name of Peony Investment Bank. With those assets, Peony Investment Bank will be reborn as Peony Holdings and Chosun Investment Corporation.”

Jeonghwan thought that the word “Sovereign Wealth Fund” would still be unfamiliar in this era, but Choi Seungil seemed to have quickly recognized Junghwan’s intentions, like a worn-out person in the international financial world.

However, he asked again with a fever that is hard to see in his eyes, whether it was for confirmation or because he was really happy that something had changed.

“The Chosun Investment Corporation… What is the purpose of that institution, comrade? And what role should I play there?”

“The same thing as before. It is to make profits by calling and multiplying the seed money of the Peony Investment Bank. Of course, unlike in the past, the money will be used to regenerate this republic, not the individual leader’s prosperity. Now, let’s start the people’s money game, the battle of financial Chollima. Let’s show that capitalism isn’t something only Americans can do .”