before you, my fellow Koreans, I am completely and absolutely rejecting and condemning the Korean Workers’ Party and the Communist Party of Korea for the Reunification of the Fatherland. The party was unfaithful and betrayed its people. I hope all true and loyal Koreans will join me in doing the same.”
Head held high, Pak went on: “The capital of our new constitutional, democratic republic will be Seoul, which is and always has been the spiritual and historic center of our nation and our people. Pyongyang will be rebuilt and modernized, and will soon become the model for a new and revitalized Korea, a shining example of the spirit and dedication of the Korean race. The people of Korea are hereby free to travel about our great land as they choose. I know the rest of your brothers and sisters welcome you.
“Together, Comrade Kwon Ki-chae and I will oversee the technical details of reunifying our country. Our primary concern is for the well-being of millions of our citizens of the North, who under the repressive Communist regime have been suffering from malnutrition, poor health care, homelessness, and poverty. We are here to assure all our people that help is on the way. We urge you to place your trust in your brothers and sisters of the South. This is the day we have long prayed for, and we must learn that our enemies were our warring governments, not the people. The help that may arrive at your village may be soldiers from the South. They are coming to help you in any way necessary, not to hurt you.”
Pak Chung-chu bowed to Kwon once again. Kwon bowed in return, then spoke: “Thank you, Comrade Pak. I echo those words most sincerely to our fellow Koreans in the South. The peninsula is whole and one again; travel is free and open to all Koreans without restriction or identity papers. Please welcome all who come to you for help, employment, or assistance, regardless of the regime under which they lived before this date. True peaceful unification is possible only if it exists in your heart. Do not allow mistrust and fear to ruin this long-awaited, blessed moment in history.
“Comrade Pak and I will share in presiding over this transition period of our new government until such time as new elections can be called. Voting rights will be extended to all Koreans over the age of seventeen — one man, one vote. Other details of the peaceful transition to one national system of government, finance, and law will be announced as soon as possible. Our task is to make this transition as smoothly, as equitably, and as peacefully as possible. Our land is rich, strong, and generous, and it is our task to see that all our people share in its blessing together. It will be a difficult task, but one which must take place. The world is watching. For the sake of our heritage and our children’s future, we must not fail.”
Kwon motioned to the world leaders beside him and went on: “As our country undertakes this day to reunify and rebuild, we look upon the governments around the world, and especially those who are represented by our distinguished guests beside me here today, to bless, support, protect, and defend the Korean people as they come together in the spirit of peace and harmony. Comrade Pak and I pledge to help forge a good, strong, law-abiding neighbor for you all. We desire only peace and prosperity for everyone. Thank you for being with us to share this blessed event.
“I would like to invite all of you to say a few words to the people of Korea and to the rest of the world. Madam Ellen Whiting, Vice President of the United States of America, if you please.” Kwon motioned to Vice President Whiting and bowed. She bowed in return and stepped forward to the microphone.
But before she could speak, Kwon returned to the microphone and said, “A thousand apologies, Madam Vice President. There is one more important announcement I wish to make before Vice President Whiting speaks:
“In the interest of peace and universal trust, Comrade Pak and I wish to declare that all foreign military forces will be asked to leave the Korean peninsula as soon as possible. This includes the Chinese Twentieth and Forty-second Group Forces, all Russian advisers and training posts, and the joint Korean and American Combined Forces Command.”
Vice President Whiting could feel the sting in her ears and fought to maintain her composure as Kwon went on: “We welcome the presence and assistance of the United Nations Commission on Reunification and Disarmament of Korea, and we look to them for support and guidance. But we respectfully request the dismantling and removal of the United Nations Military Command and the United Nations Demilitarized Zone Monitoring Agency. For the first time in almost a century, Korea now belongs to the Korean people. We hope the world as well as the parties involved support and respect this decision and help us to take our rightful place in the world community by diminishing the risk of our land becoming again a bloody battleground.”
Vice President Whiting kept her face impassive as Kwon Ki-chae said with a broad smile, “And now, may I present Madam Ellen Whiting, Vice President of the United States.” But she was in shock. Neither Kwon nor Pak had said anything about removing the United States military forces from Korea! Yet it was urgent that she pull herself together and say something coherent.
The presence of the foreign leaders there at the televised announcement ceremony was a setup, and they all knew it now. By standing there in front of the new United Republic of Korea flag, the foreign leaders were tacitly agreeing to all that was being said — including the removal of their military forces. The Chinese representative, Xu, was a minor functionary from the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang — he didn’t grasp what had been said. He was there simply because he was the nearest and least influential Chinese government official who would dare enter Korea.
But the other representatives knew what was happening. In the spirit of peace and in the hope of a cessation of further nuclear exchange, they had been cleverly duped into coming here and giving their blessing to the biggest coup of the young millennium. Vice President Whiting would never have entertained the idea of American peacekeeping forces leaving the Korean peninsula until the United States was sure the new Korean government was established, secure, and safe from internal or external intrigue or attack. Now, by her very presence, she was agreeing to precisely that. So were the Chinese, Japanese, and Russian governments.
In the blink of an eye, the American presence in Korea was over.
There is your proof,” Captain Kong Hwan-li said bitterly as he shut off the short-wave radio. “A propaganda ploy, combined with an aerial attack. Every uneducated pig in the army fell for it. It disgusts me.”
Kong was pacing in front of a small campfire, surrounded by several other Korean People’s Army officers. He had kept his voice low and the group remained silent, fearing that their voices might carry in the stillness of the countryside; the fire was small to avoid attracting attention.
A few moments later a guard escorted another soldier to the campfire. He stepped before Captain Kong and saluted. “Sir, my name is Master Sergeant Kim Yong-ku, noncommissioned officer in charge, Unit Six, Forty-fifth Regiment, Sixth Battalion. I am reporting to you as ordered by my commanding officer, Lieutenant Choi Yeon- sam.”
“Where is the lieutenant?” Kong asked.
“Sir, he was captured, tortured, and left to die by a roving band of deserters on his way to this meeting,” Kim replied. “He was attacked about a kilometer from where our unit is in hiding. Security forces from Unit Six responded to his cries for help, but we were not in time. But before he died, the lieutenant told me about this meeting and how important it was for someone from our unit to attend. He said it was the only way our country had to reconstitute our strategic forces in order to drive the invaders out.”
Captain Kong drew his sidearm and aimed it at the sergeant. “How do we know you are not one of the deserters?” he asked. “How do we know you didn’t torture the information out of Choi and come here to us, hoping to lead the capitalists or their American overlords to us?”
Kim bristled angrily, then stiffened his back almost to attention. “I may not be an officer, sir, but I am a loyal and faithful soldier and servant of the fatherland and of our Beloved Leader,” he said. “I did not flee to China when the deserters and traitors left my unit — I stood at my post and did my solemn duty. When marauders and thieves attacked our unit, I fought them off. When my commander was killed, I avenged his death. If you still believe I am a traitor to the fatherland, I give you permission to end my life. I do not deserve to live if I cannot serve the fatherland or the People’s Army.”
Kong lowered his sidearm. He had noticed that the sergeant still wore his People’s Army uniform. That said a lot, especially now. Anyone in an Army uniform was being shot at on sight. Most important was the news that word of the meeting had managed to reach the commanding officer of Unit Six. The unit’s expertise was vital to Kong’s plans. He holstered his weapon. “We welcome you,” he said. “We will ask you to prove your worth, and if you are
