and recognize the warhead, to convince us that the missile was being prepared for launch against Japan. It’s significant that the North Koreans usually keep their aircraft and missiles under cover until they’re ready to actually launch them, but at these four bases the No-dongs have been sitting visible on the pads for the last couple of days. We think these four missile sites were chosen deliberately, because they’re near the coast and relatively easy to attack, and that therefore Pyongyang’s intention was to entice us to hit them, because that would provide the excuse they needed to cross the DMZ into South Korea. They could then claim they were acting in self-defence, following an unprovoked attack by us or the South Koreans.’
‘Devious bastards. So what happened with the British Harriers? Did somebody get a message to them?’
‘We’ve no idea, sir. It’s possible someone on the British carrier put two and two together, or maybe one of the pilots worked it out. That doesn’t matter. What’s chiefly important is that the raid didn’t happen.’
‘So what now?’
‘We’re not out of the wood yet, obviously. The North Koreans may not have obtained the excuse they’d like to start an invasion, but that doesn’t mean they won’t go ahead anyway. In fact, we’re reasonably certain that’s exactly what they’re intending.’
‘You’ve got evidence to back up that assertion?’ the Secretary of Defense asked.
‘Yes, sir. We’ve seen troops, tanks and armour at North Korean bases moving towards the DMZ and then holding position, presumably waiting for the word to advance. We’ve detected other foot-soldiers entering what we believe are tunnels running into South Korea, and there’s a lot of activity in the coastal areas on both sides of the peninsula. We think they could be groups of special forces preparing to infiltrate south of the DMZ. But what concerns us most, Mr President, is this.’
Walter Hicks opened his briefcase and took out half a dozen black-and-white photographs. ‘These pictures are less than one hour old. This is the North Korean base at Chiha-ri, just north of the DMZ, and we believe this object here’ – he pointed – ‘is a modified HY-2 Seersucker cruise missile. It’s mounted on a trailer and they’re just moving it into the hardened shelter.
‘The weapon’s a Chinese development of the old Russian P-15 Styx anti-ship missile, and it’s been exported to a number of countries including Iraq and North Korea. Pyongyang’s been playing about with these since the early nineties. Back in ninety-four they test-flew one that covered a hundred miles, and three years later they’d increased the range to over one hundred twenty miles. That’s when our military christened the weapon the AG- 1.
‘Until now we’d no idea what else they’ve been doing with the Seersucker, but these pictures suggest they’ve succeeded in developing a land-based variant, and that’s real bad news. It’s an old design, but it’s still a serious weapon. It’s big and bulky, but for the North Koreans that’s actually an advantage, because they can put whatever they like in it – different guidance system, bigger fuel tanks or whatever – without having to modify the basic shape.’
‘What are we talking about here in terms of payload and performance? And will the PAC-3 Patriot batteries south of the DMZ be able to engage it?’
Hicks shook his head. ‘To answer your second question first, Mr President, probably not, because of its flight profile. The Patriot’s very good at intercepting medium- and high-level targets, but it was never designed to engage fast low-flying targets like cruise missiles. It’s not generally known, but in March and April two thousand three, during the Second Gulf War, the Iraqis fired five obsolete Chinese-built cruise missiles into Kuwait. There were no casualties, and the damage they caused was minimal, but the Patriot radars never even saw them.
‘As for the Seersucker’s performance, the original HY-2 had a liquid-fuelled motor that gave it just subsonic performance – about Mach zero decimal nine – and a range of about sixty miles carrying a thousand-pound warhead. Its avionics were quite sophisticated, with a radio altimeter, TV guidance system, infrared seeker head and active radar guidance as it closed with the target.
‘Those data are based on the Chinese version from the early nineties – I’d be prepared to bet serious money that the North Koreans have made significant improvements in almost all areas. We already know they’ve doubled its effective range.’
‘What do you think they intend doing with them?’
‘If I was running this operation,’ General Sterling answered the question, ‘I’d prepare three or four, strap a low-yield nuclear weapon on each of them and set them to air-burst over South Korea on a line running east–west through Seoul. That would pretty much wipe out the CFC’s computers and communication systems and everything else that runs on printed-circuit boards. Then I’d use artillery to soften up the enemy troops, and send in the army. And there wouldn’t be a damn thing we could do to stop it.’
‘November Alpha, Cobra Leader. We’re heading back to Mother and leaving the tactical frequency for our discrete. We’ll listen out on Guard.’
‘Cobra Leader, roger.’
‘Cobras and Vipers, stud six, go.’
In a few seconds, all four pilots had checked in on their private frequency.
‘Cobra Two from Leader. You
‘I’m sure,’ Richter said, with a confidence that was only slightly forced. ‘Nothing else makes sense, as far as I can see. We’ll check out the satellite imagery when we get back, but I’m betting there’ll be no sign of fuel going into those No-dongs. They were just bait.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘Where are they now?’ Rodgers asked, as he walked back into the CIC. ‘Here, sir. Just passing to the east of the DMZ. They’re now at high level, around thirty-five thousand feet and doing about three hundred and fifty miles an hour. It looks like they’re just going home.’
‘Right. Where are the Prowlers and Hornets?’
The operator pointed out two sets of contacts, established in holding patterns well outside North Korean radar coverage. ‘Do you want them recalled, sir?’
‘No, keep them out there. This isn’t over yet.’
With no small degree of satisfaction, the commanding officer looked around the missile preparation area inside the tunnelled-out shelter. The three HY-2 cruise missiles, mounted on trailers that also held the firing control panels, were almost ready. Technicians swarmed over them making last-minute checks, but all the flight and avionics systems – and, most important of all, the payload – had checked out and he was certain there’d be no delays when the order to launch them was given.
And behind the three HY-2s were six Scud type B missiles, each topped by a warhead containing fifty frangible bomblets full of sarin gas. The cluster was designed to be released some two thousand feet above the ground, ensuring that the nerve gas – lethal in doses as low as one milligram for an average adult – would be dispersed over a reasonably wide area. Predicting the likely death toll had been no better than a guess because of the huge number of variables in the equation, but Pyongyang was hoping for between five hundred thousand and one million casualties.
So it would fall to the dedicated team at Chiha-ri to strike not only the first blow against the capitalist lackeys in Seoul and their treacherous American friends, but also the second. For the commanding officer, it was more than just an honour: it was the culmination of his life’s ambition.
Kim Yong-Su had one task left to perform, for his own protection. He started the tape recorder running, then lifted the receiver of the red telephone and waited for the soft voice he knew so well.
‘Yes, Kim?’
‘Everything is ready. The commanding officer at Chiha-ri has assured me that the cruise missiles are
