Jang Songthaek sat down across from . After brooding with a serious expression for a long while, he picked up a fresh glass and filled it with vodka.
Downing it in one go, he spoke without even pausing for breath.
“Then are you saying we demolish all the existing facilities? If we do that, district redevelopnt will take an enormous amount of ti. Even so, by our Republic’s standards, these are fairly good facilities.”
“They might be satisfactory by the Republic’s standards, but they don’t et mine. Otherwise, why would I say I’m scrapping everything I’d planned?”
Jang Songthaek let out a low murmur, clearly displeased.
The original plan had been drawn up the mont I decided to use Jang Songthaek to oust Kim Jongil and open up North Korea.
But after spending the entire day touring Nampo City, it beca painfully clear that my initial plan wouldn’t even co close.
The existing facilities were such a ss that it would almost be better to think of it as creating sothing from nothing.
“So what exactly was the plan you originally had in mind?”
Jang Songthaek asked, and in my frustration I downed another glass of vodka.
“I intended to turn Nampo Port into a transshipnt hub. Considering Nampo’s location, I thought it had the optimal conditions, but......”
“A transshipnt hub? What exactly is that?”
No matter how well-versed Jang Songthaek was in economics, he couldn’t know everything.
And North Korea had been cut off for a long ti—it wasn’t strange that he didn’t know.
I spent quite a while explaining in detail the necessity of a transshipnt hub, Nampo’s geographical advantages, and the profits generated through transshipnt.
“Is it really that profitable?”
After hearing everything, Jang Songthaek asked with widened eyes.
“Yes. It requires a lot of capital at first, but once it takes root, transshipnt becos a business that yields considerable profit. The global economy is already intricately intertwined.”
“.......”
“And the core of that economy is imports and exports. But not every country can build massive ports. So cargo has to be moved from smaller ships to larger ones at major ports.”
After thinking for a mont, Jang Songthaek swallowed dryly and spoke.
“Then the employnt effect would be significant as well.”
“Exactly. And not just employnt. When ships dock, the sailors onboard need to co ashore and rest. That ans you need to build lodging connected to the port, and a city where they can enjoy entertainnt. If you prepare places where sailors can spend money, that alone will revive North Korea’s economy.”
Sailors who spent most of the year at sea had few opportunities to spend money.
So when they finally ca ashore, they spent freely.
That was what I was aiming for—to create a place where they could play, where they could spend without restraint.
“It’s not about developing just one sector. The entire city—Nampo City itself—needs to develop in a balanced way. That will greatly improve the lives of North Korean residents as well.”
Jang Songthaek slowly rotated the glass of vodka in his hand, focusing intently on my explanation.
“East Asian logistics will continue to grow. To seize that growth, we need to prepare in advance. South Korea is already building a new port in Busan, and China is constructing Yangshan Port in Shanghai.”
“I’ve heard that news as well. They say Shanghai Port can’t handle all the cargo volu, so they’re building Yangshan Port.”
“If you already know that, it makes things easier to explain. Yangshan Port will be built in stages. I hear it’s planned as a port dedicated exclusively to transshipnt cargo.”
China, which pursued anything profitable, had begun to set its sights on transshipnt ports.
That ant we needed to enter the market before they expanded further.
Yet Jang Songthaek still hesitated, clearly conflicted.
“But China and we are completely different. China has already beco the world’s factory with its cheap labor. Isn’t the logistics overload because so many goods made in China are being shipped worldwide?”
Transshipnt cargo and import-export cargo were different things. It seed he still didn’t fully grasp what I was saying.
Goods produced in China could already be handled by the existing ports in Shanghai.
“I said they’re building Yangshan Port specifically to handle transshipnt cargo. Whether a country is large or small isn’t what matters. What matters is how large a ship the port can accommodate, and whether it has the capacity to process that cargo. And on top of that, you need location. If all those elents co together, the size of the country is irrelevant.”
At present, the world’s number one port in cargo handling capacity was Rotterdam in the Netherlands, and second was Singapore.
Leaving the Netherlands aside, Singapore was a very small city-state.
Yet because all those conditions were t, it ranked first in Asia and second worldwide.
“Look at Singapore. It’s a city-state, yet it’s winning against Shanghai Port in the East Asian logistics competition.”
Of course, it would be overtaken in a few years—but that wasn’t information I needed to bring up now.
“As soon as the new millennium began, the first thing China did was order the construction of Yangshan Port. And it’s not just the port—they launched a massive project that includes residential areas, industry, and logistics processing facilities behind it.”
China’s shipping cargo volu had grown every year, increasing by thirty percent over the past decade.
That growth propelled China forward, and Shanghai Port naturally rose with it.
It had now surpassed Busan Port, growing into the world’s third-largest port and Asia’s second-largest.
“Nampo City’s geographical position is superior to Shanghai’s. By land, it’s close to China to the north and very close to South Korea to the south. Shipping logistics from Nampo Port to Seoul could even be faster than delivering from Busan Port to Seoul—assuming the roads are properly connected, of course.”
That was why I’d asked for Nampo Port rather than Najin, which was closer to Russia.
“I plan to dismantle the West Sea Barrage and carry out large-scale construction to begin port developnt. Nampo Port itself will be expanded to handle logistics between North and South Korea, while the new port built after dismantling the barrage will be turned into a transshipnt hub.”
At this shocking declaration, Jang Songthaek dropped the glass he was holding.
“W-What did you say?”
The glass shattered on the floor, but Jang Songthaek paid it no attention as he snapped at .
“Do you have any idea what you’re saying, President Kim? Do you know how proud the Republic is of the West Sea Barrage? You’re saying you’ll dismantle it?”
His voice rose in agitation.
“Absolutely not. This could put my position in danger.”
“Is the West Sea Barrage really that important?”
At my words, Jang Songthaek glared at .
Of course, I knew very well how important the West Sea Barrage was in North Korea. I also knew that Kim Ilsung had built it.
Still, Jang Songthaek’s reaction was far stronger than I’d expected.
“The West Sea Barrage is a place the Great Leader personally ordered and frequently inspected. He even nad it himself.”
“I know that. But dismantling old structures to match the tis of change is commonplace.”
Jang Songthaek shook his head.
“No. President Kim, you don’t understand. You don’t ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ understand the status the Great Leader holds in our Republic. He is different from the Chairman.”
Without giving a chance to respond, Jang Songthaek continued.
His neck veins bulged as his temper flared.
“The Great Leader is no different from a god in the Republic. And you want to dismantle a facility he personally built? That’s no different from asking to put my life on the line.”
“I understand that as well. But can the future generations be shackled forever because of the dead?”
“No. He is not a dead man. At least, not in the Republic.”
He cut off decisively. For the normally rational Jang Songthaek to react this strongly ant the danger was real.
“I understand what you’re saying. Even so, this must be done. For North Korea, and for the people.”
“Everything else may be possible, but dismantling a facility associated with the Great Leader is not.”
Jang Songthaek said firmly once again.
“I would rather give you another port city. Develop that in this way instead......”
I raised my hand and cut him off. It wasn’t a proposal worth hearing.
I intended to develop Nampo exactly as I wanted, no matter what.
“Vice Chairman, you already promised to lease Nampo City to . However I choose to develop it is my prerogative. If you oppose at every turn like this, how am I supposed to conduct business?”
At the word “promise,” Jang Songthaek flinched slightly. Seeing that, I continued.
“The reason I even discuss things that don’t need to be discussed with you is because we are partners.”
“I did promise to give it to you. But this isn’t a trivial matter. The dismantling of the West Sea Barrage......”
“Isn’t reform what you want? You’re pursuing an opening policy for the sake of the people.”
Jang Songthaek clenched his lips and nodded.
“But if you cling to the past, you can do nothing. You know better than I do what the man who inherited power after Stalin’s death did.”
The Soviet dictator Stalin t an abrupt end.
A dictator leaves no second-in-command. As a result, the Soviet Union plunged into chaos after losing its leader overnight.
Amid that chaos, fierce power struggles erupted, and in the end, Nikita Khrushchev erged victorious.
And the first thing Khrushchev did after taking power was launch a campaign to demote his predecessor, Stalin.
“The Soviet Union also deified and idolized Stalin. And following that example, didn’t Kim Ilsung deify and idolize himself as well?”
“.......”
“For true reform, Kim Ilsung's idol must be shattered—just as Khrushchev shattered Stalin’s.”
Only by toppling Kim Ilsung, who had beco a god in North Korea, would Jang Songthaek’s power grow stronger.
“I will dismantle the West Sea Barrage. Make that the starting point, and free North Korea from the suffocating grip of Kim Ilsung.”
Jang Songthaek would understand better than anyone what my words ant.
He would understand—and he would be afraid. Kim Ilsung's symbolic weight in North Korea was that great.
But Stalin’s stature at the ti had been even greater. Khrushchev had ultimately dragged him down to earth and solidified his own power.
“No matter how much you oppose it, Vice Chairman, I will dismantle the West Sea Barrage.”
Letting out a quiet sigh, Jang Songthaek closed his eyes.
“Didn’t you decide to harden your heart? Weren’t the gunshots echoing through Pyongyang the celebratory salvo of that change?”
“Ha......”
Jang Songthaek let out a deep sigh. He filled his glass with vodka again and emptied it in one go.
Setting the empty glass down, he finally spoke.
“Rapid change is not a good thing. Even Khrushchev, whom you ntioned, acted like a follower of Stalin at first. He only began the campaign to demote Stalin several years after securing power. It’s still too early.”
It seed Jang Songthaek, too, had considered the necessity of demoting Kim Ilsung.
He probably intended to start slowly, after so ti had passed.
“So let’s proceed after more ti has gone by.”
Jang Songthaek offered a compromise.
“Vice Chairman. Ti is money. If you miss the window, you won’t be able to catch up later. This is a massive construction project. We can’t afford to delay sothing that may take years.”
Even starting now, it was uncertain whether we could beat China. If we delayed further—if we missed the timing—it would be over.
“I’ll begin imdiately after the Party Congress and the summit eting in Seoul.”
“President Kim Muhyuk.”
When I rejected his compromise, Jang Songthaek raised his voice again.
“I still need ti to fully consolidate my power. First, we expand Nampo Port and......”
There was no point in continuing. It would just go in circles. It was ti to throw out the bait.
I t his gaze and slowly lifted one corner of my mouth.
“Vice Chairman—let build the Ryugyong Hotel for you.”
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