by Van Torrey
Of course, Marshall Kim had been in constant communication with Foreign Minister Yang - through Ambassador Bledsoe - and his CIA handler, Doug Chambers. At the beginning of the third week of Kim’s tenure it was mutually decided that Fhang’s death would have to be announced. The Chinese took the lead with an announcement from the New China News Agency.
BULLETIN
THE FOREIGN MINISTRY OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA REGRETFULLY ANNOUNCES TODAY THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED DEATH OF NORTH KOREAN PRESIDENT, GENERAL FHANG JHAI. THE GENERAL DIED OF AN APPARENT CEREBRAL ANEURYSM WHILE VISITING BEIJING PARTICIPATING IN BILATERAL TALKS AIMED AT IMPROVING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND HER ASIAN NEIGHBORS. GENERAL FHANG’S BODY WILL BE FLOWN TO PYONGYANG WHERE A STATE BURIAL IS EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. MARSHALL KIM DONG-SUN IS EXPECTED IN BEIJING TODAY TO ESCORT GENERAL FHANG’S BODY BACK TO PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA. THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP AND CITIZENS EXPRESS THEIR DEEP CONDOLENCES TO THE PEOPLE OF THE DPRK FOR THEIR LOSS.
*
General Fhang’s funeral had been being planned in the back of Marshall Kim’s mind since the plan had been revealed to him to replace Fhang. The usual pomp and circumstance of a State funeral was easy to orchestrate, the final assumption of power and gaining a strong foothold would be the difficult part. But Kim Dong-sun steeled himself to make the transition statement.
After General Fhang’s funeral bier had been put in place in the capitol building for public viewing, Marshall Kim assembled the Chiefs of all the military commands and the Chiefs of the Reconnaissance Bureau and Ministry of People’s Security in his executive conference room under the guise of preparing for the State funeral of General Fhang.
When they had settled in, Kim addressed the group. “We should all expect a period of mourning for General Fhang and then begin to carry on with our progressive goals that General Fhang envisioned for us under the new treaty with China. Unfortunately he did not live to see the evolution of the Brilliant New Light that was his dream, but we have seen the beginnings of it with the positive changes of the past weeks. I have every reason to believe these changes will continue as we make progress to once again become a proud nation, not dependent on handouts from fair weather friends.”
This group of men had never experienced anything but the leadership of the ongoing cult of the Chong family and the striking swiftness of General Fhang’s coup d’état. With the death of Fhang, leadership change in the DPRK would be breaking new ground. This is where Marshall Kim played out the final act in this unlikely and carefully played out opera of political change on the Korean peninsula.
Kim continued his soliloquy to this group who, for the first time in their lives, were leaderless. “I have here in my hands, the final draft of the treaty General Fhang was about to sign with the People’s Republic of China and the Government of South Korea. It specifically states in great detail the material and financial support that we will receive from our Asian brothers over the next several years. There are three major caveats to this agreement. They are we renounce our nuclear ambitions, we reopen good faith negotiations with our brothers to the south toward reunification, and we undertake an internal good faith review of our human rights policy toward our citizenry. There is one final point that I was not aware of. The final paragraph says if General Fhang cannot serve in his current capacity, I, Marshall Kim Dong-sun, must serve as the Supreme Leader of the DPRK for a period of ten years or until free elections can be held. It further states that China and South Korea will renounce their responsibilities to this treaty if that leadership contingency is violated. The content of this treaty is concurrently being broadcast on the television and media networks of China and all of Korea, including the DPRK, and is being inserted in the record of the United Nation’s General Assembly in New York. The Foreign Ministers of China and South Korea will be flying to Pyongyang immediately after General Fhang’s funeral to sign the treaty, and I will be signing on behalf of our government.”
The General in charge of the People’s Army rose to address Marshall Kim. “Marshall, I agree that the changes that have been announced in the past few weeks will have a positive benefit for our country, but this all seems much like another assumption of power...this time it is you who aspires to become our leader. How are we to view that?”
“You are to view this as an opportunity to bring our country out of the darkness of inept cult-like dictatorial repression that has isolated us from our brothers to the south and the other progressive nations of the world. You have two choices, brothers. We accept the carrot and stick offers to bring the DPRK out of the mire of darkness for our people, or turn away from this generous offer of resources that we cannot realistically expect to husband for ourselves and continue to live in an atmosphere of fear, repression, and contempt from the other nations who are our neighbors. Your choice must be made individually and collectively in this room today.”
For a few extremely tense moments Kim Dong-sun listened as these powerful men murmured among themselves. Some gesticulated wildly, some shook their heads in obvious misunderstanding, and others began to nod their approval. As the informal caucus continued Marshall stood at rigid attention and looked sternly at any man who chose to make eye contact. In the end, Rachel Hunter, Minister Yang, and Premier Zuan had judged correctly. The men in military power in North Korea were not revolutionaries. They were not independent critical thinkers. They were men who needed to be led by another man with confidence who projected authority. President Hunter and Premier Zuan had manufactured such a man in the person of Kim Dong-sun.
The future of the DPRK was in no way certain under the leadership of Kim, and as Philip Johnson said later to President Rachel Hunter, “He may be a son of a bitch, but at least he’s our son of a bitch!”
The End
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
With this third novel featuring the courageous exploits of Chance Lyon in his defense of the United States against her enemies, many familiar characters once again come to life. I would like to thank friends and family for their suggestions and constructive criticism relative to their continued presence (or lack thereof – RIP Jonathon Braxton) and contributions to these stories.
Aside from actual family and friends, creating fictional characters and imbuing them with distinctly human characteristics such as courage, patriotism, integrity, and even frailties, is the next best thing to reality.
To my family and friends who deal graciously with my frequent all-too-human frailties, I extend my thanks for your support and friendship. JALM, Louis, Bob, and Bevan, you are true friends.
To my patient and eminently thorough editor, Terry Parker, Esq., I owe a debt of gratitude.
Chance Lyon, and others like him, will continue to live on, driven by the idealism of America being a beacon of freedom and liberty for others to respect and emulate in a spirit of good will, and to fear when a spirit of ill will becomes evident.
Van C. Torrey
July, 2015
OTHER BOOKS IN THE CHANCE LYON SERIES
Point of the Trident – © June, 2013
Nuclear Denial – © October 2014
Available from Amazon®.com and Kindle®.com
AUTHOR BIO
Van Torrey is a writer of fiction living in Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army. His previous novels, both featuring Chance Lyon as the principal character, are Point of the Trident and Nuclear Denial.
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