21st century Goguryeo

Chapter 491: Season 2 Book 20 Shadow of War – 1-4 The Fair Price

“The male reporter in the third row! Ask your question.”

The Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication pointed his hand toward a male reporter in the third row. In response, the male reporter rose from his seat and asked the question that all the reporters were curious about.

“I’m CCB reporter, Kim Jun-won. According to CCTV reports in New China, the attack has resulted in at least 200 million casualties. So, does the Korean government have an accurate casualty count? If statistics have been compiled, please let us know.”

After hearing the simple and direct question, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication put the microphone close to his mouth and answered the reporter’s question. “Yes, I am aware that various national media outlets, including those in our own country, are concerned about this. The damage status and casualties are currently being gathered, and the Ministry of National Defense will announce them at a press conference this afternoon. You can refer to the exact number of casualties at that time.”

“Then, don’t you even have an approximate number?” Reporter Kim Jun-won asked an additional question.

“We would like to inform you that approximate casualties have been collected, but no official announcement has been made because the data are inaccurate.”

“Then I’ll ask you one more question. What do you think of New China’s announcement of 200 million casualties?”

“I believe it is an exaggerated number. Okay! I’ll now take questions from other reporters.”

After replying, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication pointed to a female reporter this time. “That’s right, the fifth female reporter on the left!”

“Thank you. I’m KBS reporter, Hong Kyung-mi. Quoting the statement the president had earlier declared—’New China will vanish into history forever.’—please explain the precise meaning of this statement.”

She sat down after asking her question, and the Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication took a moment to think of an answer.

Since it was an impromptu statement from the president rather than a previously prepared manuscript, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication had to infer the president’s speech and respond accordingly.

“New China was a defeated country that had signed a surrender clause after losing to the Republic of Korea in the name of China three years ago, but they broke the surrender clause and went to war with the Republic of Korea. As a result, the president believes that there are no more opportunities for New China, and she will no longer recognize the New Chinese state system.”

“Sir! Can we then interpret her words as getting rid of New China?”

“We’ll explain that part in detail after the end of the war.”

Reporters buzzed at the vague answer.

“Then I’ll choose the last question from among domestic reporters.”

“Excuse me. Excuse me!”

“Let me ask a question.”

“Here.”

“Sir!”

Domestic reporters rushed to raise their hands in a frenzy, knowing that this was their last chance to ask questions.

“This time, let’s go with the male reporter in the last row on the right!”

“Yes, thank you. My name is Nam Tae-kwang, a reporter for The Shilla Ilbo. According to what is currently confirmed, the attack was viewed as an act of inhumane war in the United States as well as in Western countries represented by the EU, and they will impose severe punishment and economic restrictions on Korea. Please explain the president’s and the government’s stance on this matter, as well as your countermeasures.”

“That’s an excellent question. As reporter Nam stated, we are under intense pressure from a variety of countries, and we have already anticipated that they will use economic restrictions against us. The government’s official position is as follows: It is normal for other countries to disagree with Korea, but if they try to escalate things by imposing political and economic restrictions, we will make them pay and not remain silent.”

“Sir! Wouldn’t Korea’s economy be isolated if we fought back like that? I believe that will cause us significant damage.”

“Yes, we are aware of this. However, the other countries will suffer just as much economic damage as Korea. Okay then! Shall we move on to the foreign reporters?”

The Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication turned his head toward the group of foreign reporters and pointed to a white reporter in his sixties with an impressive head of gray hair. In response, the white reporter asked his question in fluent Korean.

“Thank you. I’m James Scaron, a reporter from BBF in the United States. I’ll ask you my question right away, even though it overlaps with the previous one. According to the president’s statement, I believe she declared war on the rest of the world. Are you really going to go to war with all the countries on the planet?”

When James Scaron asked such a significant question, all the reporters turned their attention to him.

“A war against the world…Well, that’s right. That’s it.”

“Woah.”

The Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication’s response was so shocking that the entire Blue House press center was briefly shaken, and among the domestic reporters, there were either cries of exclamation or exasperation.

“Currently, the unified Republic of Korea is at war with Russia and New China for the sake of the Korean people’s national fortune. In other words, we are fighting a war with a willingness to die. As reporter James Scaron put it, if every country in the world wants a war with us, we will not avoid it. Even though the likelihood of this happening is low, I want you to know that the current government is prepared for anything.”

“Do you think you have a chance of winning if you go to war with all the countries in the world?”

When asked by reporter James Scaron, the Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication smiled slightly and answered with a question, “Reporter James Scaron, do you think all countries in the world will go to war with the Republic of Korea?”

Reporter Scaron, who thought about the question for a while, shook his head and said frankly, “Well, I think that it’s unlikely.”

“Right? It’s very unlikely. Therefore, I think this question is meaningless.” The Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication’s witty response elicited a small laugh among the reporters.

“Okay! Then I’ll pick the reporter for the last question. Um, the woman in the front row in the white coat!”

“Yes, thank you for giving me a chance to ask the last question. I’m a reporter for CCB Selmaherd from the EU. It may be a repeated question, but let me ask you again. As far as I know, the EU is preparing for all-round economic restrictions on the Republic of Korea. The EU is a large market that imports as many as 40 percent of high-value-added products from South Korea. As far as I know, Korea’s economic driving force is the export of these products. In other words, if you lose 40 percent of the market due to economic pressure, wouldn’t Korea fall into a very big economic crisis?”

“That’s right. Of course, the economic crisis can have a significant impact on us. However, the EU will be hit just as hard. Wouldn’t all of the factories of companies that use our semiconductors close? And even if they chose to replace our products to avoid closing, using semiconductors that are of three to four times lower performance would affect sales because it would not meet the needs of customers who have already used high-performance devices. For example, even if an electronics manufacturers were to survive, won’t all defense companies fail? The exact statistics are unknown, but I understand that Korean semiconductors are used in 80 percent of defense weapons. What are your thoughts? Based on this fact, both the Republic of Korea and the EU will have a significant economic impact. However, I would like to point out that the Republic of Korea, which is on a roll economically, has enough cash to weather the trade war for at least three years. So, the Republic of Korea will deal with any country that goes against us, whether it is a direct war with guns or an indirect trade war. This, I believe, will put an end to the questions.”

“Excuse me! Let me ask you one more question.”

“Give me a chance, too.”

Reporters who couldn’t ask questions hurriedly raised their hands and shouted.

“I’m sorry, but as promised, we’ve decided to limit the number of questions to five. I’ll wrap it up here. If you have a question, please send it to us in writing, and we will respond. Thank you for your hard work.”

Today’s presentation of the president’s public statement was concluded by the Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Communication coming out next to the podium and greeting them.

As such, after the statement, which was broadcasted live, ended, all countries around the world were in tremendous shock.

In particular, the U.S. and EU members were more than twice as shocked as other countries because they were expecting to succeed.

* * *

January 8th, 2024, 14:00

B2 bunker, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Namju (Situation room of the Armed Forces Joint Command Control Center)

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, which completed the ‘Flattening Operation’ the previous night, issued an order to all units along the border with New China to begin the sweeping operation early that morning. They were only using defensive tactics up until now because they thought the New China army had plasma bombs. However, as a result of unexpected information received from the Republic of China, they issued an all-out attack order today.

The information that they had received from the Republic of China is as follows:

A few days ago, the Republic of China received a secret contact from New China’s Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung, who surprisingly told them that he would provide them with all four plasma bombs held by the New China army in exchange for asylum.

Accordingly, the government of the Republic of China approved Jang Yue Fung’s asylum after several days of consideration. They also provided the personal jet that was requested by him.

They believed that by securing plasma-related technology through research and development based on the four plasma bombs that would be received, they would be able to not only reclaim Chongqing from New China but also grow into a world power. However, there was one issue—Korea.

If the Korean government was aware of this, the relationship between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of China, which had been financially supported by friendly relations thus far, may be compromised, potentially leading to economic and military restrictions. As a result, they decided to inform the Republic of Korea.

In response, the South Korean government devised countermeasures with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and told the Republic of China to provide all support to receive the four plasma bombs by approving Jang Yue Fung’s offer. They even obtained information about the exact number of plasma bombs that the New China army had, and finally, requested information on the personal jets that Jang Yue Fung and the other related persons would be flying in and permission to intercept them in the sky over the Republic of China in exchange for unofficially providing various support to the Republic of China. As such, the two countries signed a secret agreement.

It was due to this clandestine agreement that Defense Minister Jang Yue Fung and General Chief of Staff Yuan Xiaoqiao were killed in the Dassault Falcon-8X while seeking asylum.

Also, due to the same agreement, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were able to issue a full-fledged attack order on the New China Army without hesitation, as they were able to successfully handle the four plasma bombs held by the New China Army.

“I wish I could just drop one X-PSB, not even two,” said Youn Gi-youn, Deputy Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, while watching the video on screen five.

“Hahaha, you had the same thought as me,” said Army Chief of Staff Lee Eun-hyung sarcastically.

“You had the same thought?”

“Yes, I was just thinking about it.”

“Looks like we have something in common.”

The video the two commanders were watching while talking featured an area in Beijing, captured by the Apollo Reconnaissance Satellite.

Through the dark red flames, they could see the entrance to a bunker made of thick concrete. From within, several people had appeared one at a time and numerous large transport helicopters were hovering above after lowering a rope ladder..