Chapter 46: The Silent Fallout
North Korea suddenly went silent.
After a fierce exchange of usations over the DMZ infiltration incident, North Korea abruptly cut off allmunication and issued no statements.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense stopped its criticism and focused on assessing the situation.
Around this time, senior officers from the US-Korea Combined Forces Command met.
“This photo is…”
“It was taken by the Reconnaissance General Bureau a few hours ago. It was blown up very neatly, wasn’t it?”
Lee Seok-hoon, the director of the Intelligence Staff Office, couldn’t hide his astonishment at the photo handed over by Major General David.
He knew very well where the headquarters of the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau was located.
But theyout of the buildings he knew waspletely different from this photo.
They had disappeared overnight.
“Did the US…”
Major General David quickly raised his hand.
“I don’t represent the White House, but I can assure you that we have nothing to do with this. However, we are suspecting various possibilities.”
“Does that include us?”
“We’re not ruling it outpletely.”
“Major General, don’t you know our situation? Do you think we canunch a ballistic missile with that kind of power without the US military knowing? Does that make sense?”
The US military’s reconnaissance assets deployed in the Korean Penins could detect even a small missile me.
Of course, many of the equipment had been withdrawn as rtions between the two countries deteriorated, but it was nonsense to say that they couldn’t detect a firepower that could destroy the Reconnaissance General Bureau.
“That’s why it’s one of the possibilities. That includes our subordinate units and Japan as well.”
“···How far will this be disclosed?”
“It should not be reported in the media at least.”
“I understand.”
Meanwhile, the National Intelligence Service also managed to find out some of the details of this incident.
They mobilized all their human intelligence lines to North Korea and confirmed that there was a sh and a loud noise in the sky above Pyongyang, and that the shock wave was strong enough to break the windows of nearby apartments.
But it was difficult to verify any more information than that.
North Korea hadpletely blocked information by closing its borders.
Even the ports along the west coast were closed, and container ships carrying minerals stopped.
In the midst of this, ominous rumors circted within North Korea.
The anti-aircraftmand line had been purged entirely, or there was a loud noise from the No. 1 building of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Kim Jong-un’s impulsive personality and hysteria were not new, but this time it was different.
The National Intelligence Service obtained intelligence that Kim Jong-un had publicly executed about a dozen of his close aides.
―It’s clear that something has changed in North Korea. Maybe one of their anti-South operations agencies has gone up in smoke.
―There are rumors that Kim Jong-un cursed at the American bastards and South Korean bastards and raged.
The South Korean government was perplexed by this information.
―Who exactly should we be angry at?
―It’s absurd to me South Korea for what happened inside North Korea. It’s like ming others for one’s own faults.
The anti-North Korean intelligence agencies analyzed this situation as a mistake within North Korea.
Like the Ryongchon train explosion ident.
Neither South Korea nor the United States intervened, and it didn’t seem like Japan either, so who else could be the culprit?
But thismon sense reasoning did not work in North Korea.
They revealed part of a building that had copsedpletely through their militarymunicationwork.
―We have secured all the evidence and n to form an investigationmittee with the cooperation of China and Russia. Confess before all your evil schemes against our republic are exposed.
The Ministry of National Defense immediately refuted this.
―This has nothing to do with us. If it’s true that a building in Pyongyang was attacked, what did their air defensework do? The one that is said to be the densest in the world?
North Korea had nothing to say to this rebuttal and changed the subject.
In fact, North Korea’s air defensework was old, but it wasn’t so bad that it couldn’t detect a ballistic missile.
They missed itpletely, so it was natural that all the generals of the anti-aircraftmand were purged.
In the meantime, using terrainparison analysis, the National Intelligence Service revealed that the photo released by North Korea was near their Reconnaissance General Bureau.
When this fact became known, both the government and Joint Chiefs of Staff were shocked beyond measure.
―Did you say that their Reconnaissance General Bureau was blown up entirely? Is that true?
―It’s almost certain when we checked various anti-North lines and intelligence. It’s not that some of their Reconnaissance General Bureau officers were purged, but that their headquarters disappeared.
―Of course, the branches such as the liaison office or the 131st unit are fine, but since the head is gone, anti-South operations will be difficult for a while.
―As a result of this incident, more than 1,000 elite reconnaissance agents and dozens of senior officers from the center were killed. More importantly, their hacking talent that they had cultivated with great effort was gone, so the damage was enormous.
However, North Korea did not disclose this situation to the outside world.
In the fierce world of espionage, revealing one’s ws and weaknesses was a foolish thing to do.
Instead, they chose to cling to their traditional allies, China and Russia.
Kim Yo-jong boarded an old ne for her trip, but the result was not satisfactory.
China showed signs of suspicion about the situation.
“You’re telling us that North Korea’s air defensework failed to detect the missile barrage? Do you expect us to believe that?”
“We can’t cooperate with you until you bring us solid evidence.”
China’s passive stance was probably influenced by itsplex internal affairs.
Kim Yo-jong knew that, but she couldn’t help feeling bitter.
“I didn’t trust the revisionists. I’m going to Russia.”
But Russia didn’t even bother to meet her.
She had hoped to have a meeting with a deputy prime minister, but all she got was a shabby office with some tea and choco pies.
It was a clear message to get lost.
“Th···”
Kim Yo-jong trembled alone and had to return home without any achievement.
After that, North Korea wentpletely silent.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense demanded a fundamental solution and an apology for the DMZ infiltration incident, but North Korea did not respond at all.
They decided to ignore it as they always did.
And the hatred of the South Koreans towards North Korea reached its peak.
There was a public outcry to execute the captured North Korean soldiers.
But execution was impossible from the start, and South Korea had a way to make good use of these prisoners.
“You’re agents of their Reconnaissance General Bureau, right? What are you going to do now? You have nowhere to go back.”
“If you go back like this, your superiors won’t let you off. You’ll end up in a prison camp at least.”
They were presented with photos and arge amount of data.
The North Korean agents had undergone rigorous training and brainwashing, but they couldn’t escape the pressure of being abandoned by their superiors.
They eventually spilled all their ns under the intense interrogation of the NIS agents.
But this information never made it to the media, and the prisoners were soon forgotten.
Instead, what made headlines was the drone that yed a decisive role in stopping the infiltration team.
…
The surveince drone system performed remarkably well in this situation.
Of course, the rise of drones was not a very unusual thingtely.
They could attack tanks or assassinate targets with suicide drones.
Recently, there were also movements to mount them on tanks to assess the battlefield in three dimensions.
But the drones made by Si Hi-Tech boasted a different level of performance.
How did they make drones that could autonomously judge and ram into enemy troops?
It was because they had no weapons, but if they had machine guns or something, they would have made a great contribution, ording to the post-evaluation.
Dozens of videos rted to this were poured out on YouTube and people mored for them to equip weapons on drones quickly.
―Just put some weapons on them. They would have killed all the North Korean troops and returned to the station.
―It’s sad that they had to resort to body mming because they had no other way.
―They say Si Hi-Tech will repair them and deploy them again.
―Chairman Yu said this. They’re like my children and it hurts my heart, but I’m satisfied that they saved the lives of our soldiers.
?What is he doing developing drones as a president? Is he that free?
?Shut up if you don’t know anything. He wrote the drone algorithm and designed the station himself. Isn’t he practically making them all by himself?
?You don’t know that he went to GOP himself and did a drone demonstration in the early days?
?I’m discharged now, but I was there and the drones were really scary.
?Can you tell us some stories?
?I’m the one who spent a minute crawling 1 meter as reported in the media.
?You’re crazy.
?The drone that caught me is crazier.
While praise for drones was dominant, there were also some negative opinions, albeit in a minority.
―But those aren’t controlled by humans, right? Who’s responsible for them?
?Si Hi-Tech will take responsibility, I guess.
?What do you mean by responsibility? Have drones ever malfunctioned? No, right? Then it’s fine.
Unexpectedly, the person who stepped up to solve this problem was Jo Hyung-geun, the presidential candidate-elect.
He found this drone system while looking for something that would make him popr like a neighborhood dog.
He said he would equip weapons on drones as soon as he took office, so there was no need to worry.
“Responsibility? Has there ever been a case where drones malfunctioned? No, right? Then it’s fine.”
He even argued that all army units should officially adoptbat drones.
“What’s the problem, Lucia? If that artificial intelligence is so good, why don’t we apply it to drones?”
It was a simple and crude remark, but the army seemed to think it was not a bad idea and contacted Hitech.
Yu Jiha’s answer was this.
—It is difficult to load Lucia right away, but the offensive mode function can be applied immediately with an update.
This is how thebat drone was born and verified on the KCTC stage.
It did not have a gun, but it agreed to follow the infantry and provide various information.
However, their opponent was the Scorpion Corps, which boasted an almost undefeated record.
They had outstanding personalbat skills, but they were especially good at guerri tactics.
They sniped themander with night vision and overturned the food truck with artillery requests, which made most of the troops lose their morale.
The controllers thought it would be difficult to face the Scorpion Corps even with a drone.
—They know the training ground like their own home.
—Only officers can handle them, ordinary soldiers are no match.
—Except for the US military. They are really crazy.
Of course, KCTC was not about evaluating who won or lost, so it didn’t matter much.
Anyway, thebat drone that followed the squad members attracted a lot of attention because there was no precedent.
And after three nights and four days of fierce battle, a surprising result came out.
The controllers who expected it to be a training where the opposing army would cooperate as usual were shocked.
The post-evaluation praised the offensive drone.
—The drone alone made aplete defensive mode possible. It worked wlessly at night, and the opposing army’s infiltration team never approached the training unit.
—For the first time in the training unit, friendly fire disappeared. The identification function was perfect and it seemed that the drones exchanged location data with each other.
—Most of all, I confirmed that the soldiers had great expectations and trust in the drone. The soldiers gained confidence that they could face the opposing army head-on with the drone.
—The only drawback is that the soldiers rely too much on the drone because of its great function.
The army was satisfied with this evaluation and announced that it would apply offensive drones to future training as well.
Si Hi Tech’s updates continued and the performance of the drone became more precise day by day.
At this point, it was natural for foreign countries to take interest.
Advanced countries such as the United States still did not trust the algorithm and showed lukewarm reactions.
But there are many countries in the world that don’t care about such things.
Countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel showed deep interest in Si Hi Tech’s drones, even attending demonstrations in person.
The result was not known to Daesung, but one thing was certain.
The purpose of Crown Prince Mohammed’s visit to Korea was none other thanbat drones.
Some people argued that the crown prince would not visit Korea for just drones, and others said that drones were perfect for fighting against Houthi rebels.
—It can identify friend or foe clearly and it is bulletproof, so if you attach a gun and a grenade, it can fight better than mercenaries.
—It is also worth considering attaching it to cruise missiles and scattering them over operational areas.
—Does it cost a lot of money? There are plenty of royals in Saudi Arabia who can write checks anytime.
It was not known whether the deal was made or not.
But it was clear that Crown Prince Mohammed met Yu Ji-ha after meeting President Lee Hyun-sung.
If Korea’sbat drones were officially exported, the war against terror might take apletely different turn.
And on the day when Jo Hyung-geun’s title of president-elect disappeared, a royal jet flew from Saudi Arabia and took something away.
Yu Ji-ha received all the data on KSTAR as promised.
“Let’s make a nuclear fusion reactor now.”
Arma tilted his head next to him.
“You already made one?”
“I mean, let’s make everything so that people can ept it. Let’s start with setting up a corporation.”
“I see what you mean. I understand. And by the way, EU is moving on antitrustw. They seem to have a hard time epting your monopoly on superconductors.”
“I’m not monopolizing superconductors, am I? If they’re unfair, they can make projectiles and dig them up.”
“Well, I don’t think EU will think that way.”
“Let them do what they want.”
It wouldn’t be Yu Ji-ha who would suffer anyway.
“By the way, let me tell you that Fair Trade Commission has also looked into Si Group.”
Arma turned on his finger projector like a teacher standing on a podium and started exining.
“Some of Si Group’s businesses have some parts that irritate Fair Trade Commission. But why they have been fine until now is…”
Because they couldn’t touch them easily.
The power of Fair Trade Commission was strong enough to arrange a meal with the head of a chaebol group anytime.
But Fair Trade Commission was essentially an agency that followed the president’s will, so it was hard to touch Shi Group.
It was apany that the president cherished and received surrender from Japan.
If they messed with it, the bacsh would be no joke.
In fact, there was not much to touch.
The markets where Shi Group exercised dominant market share were all new businesses.
ck metal battery, artificial intelligence, superconductor, etc. were markets that would not have existed without Shi Group.
Moreover, they did not abuse their dominant position or arbitrarily raise prices, so they could not be used of monopoly.
The only thing they could catch was that Shi Group monopolized ck metal processing, but it was expected to be resolved in two years, so they could endure it.
Yu Ji-ha had no such thoughts.
Anyway, EU had apletely different position on this monopoly issue.
“They will start by warning you that you could face sanctions for viting antitrustws.”
Si Group’s business currently does not vite EU’s antitrustws.
But if they impose sanctions on the grounds that Shi Group monopolized ck metal processing, it would be a headache.
The EU Commission is likely to judge that otherpanies can process it as well if they supply the dposer.
Shi Group may not suffer much except for themission, but otherpanies that built factories in Korea are not.
If they block ck metal batteriesing into EU, it will be a disaster.
Who? EU’s carpanies.
“They are strangling their ownpanies, but they want to achieve their goals by doing so.”
Yu Ji-ha couldn’t helpughing at that absurd idea.
They threaten the other party by strangling their own neck?
They probably think he won’t give up such a huge market as EU, but he was willing to give up the US market as well.
His essential goal was not money.
“So they want to bring me to the negotiating table and then make me give a keynote speech at the UN General Assembly?”
“Do they want to make unobtainium amon property of humanity?”
“Going further, their true goal is to revise the space treaty. Korea should be included in that as well.”
“Do they think I’ll ept their proposal? What’s their trick?”
“At the bottom of it is the solidarity for peace that can be decided in the UN Security Council. Even if one of the permanent members vetoes, a resolution can be passed if certain conditions are met.”
Yu Ji-ha frowned at this point.
“Peace? What does superconductor have to do with peace?”
“Superconductor leads to nuclear fusion, which will bring ultimate peace to some regions.”
“That’s too far-fetched.”
“That’s what international politics is like. It seems to exist for the peace and human rights of humanity, but it can’t escape from the interests of the great powers.”
“Those great powers are China and France.”
“Britain and Germany are confirmed. They are confident that they can also persuade Russia.”
“Russia joins them and then they use solidarity for peace to revise the space treaty? That’s a really grand dream.”
“The US will veto it, but it’s not impossible if they invoke solidarity for peace and persuade non-permanent members.”
Originally, China nned to use Taiwan’s attack as bait to persuade the US, but it didn’t work out well.
Well, it’s hard to invade Taiwan when evennding training was canceled due to factionalism.
They needed to provoke them, but it wasn’t time yet.
Yu Ji-ha sneered.
“So unobtainium will finally be embraced by humanity when the resolution passes?”
They would think Russia was a variable, but in fact it was a constant.
Russia would never side with China.
No matter how much they promised to invest, it couldn’tpare to ion thruster and unobtainium.
Arma pointed hisser at the phrase “EU’s goal”.
“They will make you give a keynote speech at the General Assembly only if you refuse. They also have a sweet reward prepared for you: Nobel Prize in Physics.”
“Don’t you have to prove your scientific achievements in papers for that?”
“It includes discovery ording to its purpose. You will win the Nobel Prize in Physics as the discoverer of unobtainium.”
“I’m not interested.”
But Korea’s public opinion would be quite interested.
Especially that guy who was looking for something to be his enemy.
He suddenly felt like he hadid out a spider web very skillfully.
Ordinary insects would be caught and eaten without moving, but Yu Ji-ha was different.
“Let’s make them never think about unobtainium again. Is the ion beam fusion design ready?”
“Yes. I can make it right away.”
“Let’s do that after 17 months and just design the ion beam and fuel pellet part for now. I need to show them that.”
Ion beam is essentially the same kind as ion thruster or ion cannon.
It has the advantage of consuming less power than pulsedser irradiation method, which is also an inertial confinement method.
It does not use expensive tritium, so maintenance is quite cheap.
The problem is the ion beam that explodes the fuel pellet, which does not produce satisfactorypression rate with elements on Earth.
A hologram appeared in front of Yu Ji-ha and an ion beam fusion reactor was made in an instant.
“The energy gain is too high. Reduce it by 1/100 and simplify the design. Add some impurities to the fuel pellet as well.”
Then a 50-megawatt-scale technology demonstration nuclear fusion reactor was made.
It was possible tomercialize it with a little technology and experience, but there was a trap.
It was impossible without cooperation from this side.
Yu Ji-ha nned to unveil this in a year and five months.
Of course, he didn’t do it himself.
There were plenty of people who wanted to research, so why bother?
“Looks good. I wonder what EU countries, who value peace and human rights, will choose between reason and interest.”
“They will choose the former first. Tokamak method also has enough potential.”
“Let’s see how long that decisionsts.”
This applies after EU breaks through the first spider web andes out.
They bothid out twoyers of spider webs.
Which spider web is stronger will be known by experiencing it. div>