The Genius Grandson of the Loan King - Episode 701

I don't think this is the time to be angry

Koizumi's eyes opened wide as if they were going to tear at my suggestion.

"You admit to the abductions and are sending the living survivors back? Is that true?"

He seemed genuinely surprised, as if he had never expected it to go this far.

Koizumi most likely brought up the abduction issue simply to reduce the compensation, so such a reaction was completely understandable.

"Don't we all know this, even though North Korea just refuses to acknowledge it? Let's stop trying to cover the sky with our palms and move forward constructively."

But Koizumi pressed for Moon Kyung-deok's answer instead of mine.

"The special envoy will tell you. Is what Chairman Kim Moo-hyuk said true? That Chairman Jang Song-taek personally acknowledged the abduction of our citizens and promised to return the living survivors."

"······To be honest, I don't know much about that. The Chairman of the State Council said he also found out about it a while ago. That's why he ordered a full investigation. He said that if the abduction of Japanese citizens is true, he will admit it and apologize."

A smile appeared on Koizumi's face.

In contrast, Moon Kyung-deok continued speaking with a stiff face.

"If survivors are found through a thorough investigation, you said you would send them back to Japan. If they were married in our Republic, you even plan to send their families to Japan along with them, according to their free will."

It was unknown whether any survivors still remained.

But if the abductees had families, I couldn't help but be surprised when they heard that they would send their families back as well.

Even Kim Jong-il in his previous life didn't do that.

He did not send the survivors back, but sent them to Japan in the form of temporary repatriation. However, the victims who temporarily returned did not return.

Later, the Japanese government brought additional victims' families back to Japan through additional negotiations, but North Korea became furious and stopped further negotiations.

They even criticized the Japanese government for breaking its promise by the actions of the abductees who did not return.

"Is that······. true? Did Chairman Jang Song-taek himself say that?"

"Yes. That is what the Chairman of the State Council said himself. He has ordered a thorough investigation and is doing his best to find survivors."

"So you're saying that there was indeed a kidnapping?"

"······."

"Please continue speaking without stopping, Special Envoy."

Koizumi continued to question Moon Kyung-deok.

Moon Kyung-deok hesitated for a while and then sighed and said.

"It did happen. There was a fact that some forces from the General Staff Department's Reconnaissance Bureau, Operations Department, and External Intelligence Investigation Department conspired with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan to kidnap Japanese citizens and bring them to North Korea."

At those words, Koizumi slammed the table hard.

"This is a crime, a crime! How dare you kidnap your own citizens!"

I stepped forward to calm Koizumi down.

"Prime Minister, I don't think this is the time to be angry."

Despite my protests, Koizumi did not even turn his head and kept his gaze fixed on Moon Kyung-deok.

He glared at Moon Kyung-deok with eyes full of venom and spoke in a voice filled with anger.

"President Kim Moo-hyuk. This is a crime. How can you kidnap our Japanese people?"

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"Isn't this something you already knew?"

"I knew about it. But it's a different issue from North Korea directly acknowledging it."

"It hasn't been officially acknowledged yet. Calm down."

"Look here, President Kim Mu-hyeok."

Koizumi stopped glaring at Moon Kyung-deok and turned his head towards me to glare at me.

Look at this? She's giving me that look, too. I twisted my lips and raised one corner of my mouth.

"Prime Minister, I think you keep misunderstanding something. Are you going to give up on the negotiations or anything? North Korea has nothing to regret right now. 20 billion dollars? I can gather investors and invest that kind of money."

If I were to say let's invest in North Korea right now, there would be a flood of people rushing to invest their money.

Dream High, and my status was so unique.

I just did this annoying thing because I didn't want to share the fruits with other people.

"Let me be honest. It's ridiculous that the Prime Minister is so angry right now. If kidnapping a few Japanese people is considered a crime, then what did Japan do to Koreans in the past? Didn't they commit forced conscription, comfort women, and other things that are not acceptable for a human being?"

"What did you say?"

"You still haven't acknowledged the comfort women or forced labor? You just vaguely apologize for Japan's colonial rule of Korea, and you don't show an official stance on specific situations. If you bring up the past, it's at a disadvantage for Japan. Let's try it. Will you be satisfied if South Korea and North Korea join hands and demand a proper apology?"

Koizumi flinched when he was reprimanded in a cold voice.

"Didn't I tell you clearly? Let's leave the past behind and move forward together. But why are you so angry over the kidnapping of a few Japanese people? Didn't you say you would find the survivors and return them? Didn't you say you would admit your mistakes and apologize?"

In fact, the issue of Japanese abductions was by no means a small matter.

But it was also funny that Japan was reacting so negatively to North Korea's attitude of wanting to bury the past.

"Prime Minister, do just one thing, just one thing. If you are greedy, you will lose both rabbits. Either normalize relations with North Korea, or leave this place and become isolated."

I closed my mouth after saying that. I folded my arms, sank deeper into my chair, and waited for Koizumi's answer.

Koizumi just kept glaring at me and didn't open his mouth.

Moon Kyung-deok also waited for Koizumi's answer with a straight posture without saying anything.

I already knew that Koizumi was trying a sophisticated diplomatic trick of deliberately getting angry in order to gain more benefits.

But Koizumi had to be thoroughly present at these negotiations.

'It must be frustrating since a related civic group has already been formed. They are continuously demanding that the Japanese government reveal the truth.'

Koizumi's facial expressions and voice acting were so amazing that you might mistake him for being genuinely angry.

The problem was that I was so angry even though it wasn't the right situation.

Now that all the evidence and testimony points to the fact that there were abductions of Japanese nationals, there was no need to get so worked up.

Although there has been no official statement of position, the Japanese government, the South Korean government, and even the United States have been continuously asking North Korea to reveal the truth about the abduction incident.

"······If you overturn this seat, you won't get any compensation."

"Of course, from the perspective of North Korea, which needs to develop its economy, $20 billion would be like a drop of rain in a drought. But if we demand something more, North Korea will turn down the negotiating table. Even if I don't do that. North Korea is making a legitimate demand right now."

After giving a curt answer to Koizumi's words, I turned my head and asked Moon Kyung-deok.

"Has Chairman Jang Song-taek prepared anything else as a separate gift?"

"doesn't exist."

"Are you sure there isn't any?"

"Yes. He declared that if we get nothing out of it today, we will never sit down at the negotiating table with Japan again."

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I don't know if Jang Song-taek really said that, but at least I could tell that Moon Kyung-dok's quick thinking was not bad.

He realized that I was pressuring Koizumi and was breathing in sync with me.

That must be why Jang Song-taek cherishes it.

"Chairman Jang Song-taek said he has nothing more prepared. What should we do?"

"······."

"Should I just wake up like this? I have no regrets."

Koizumi looked at me with wavering eyes.

It seemed as if he was trying to read something from my eyes, but he couldn't find anything.

I was sincere.

As I told him, I had no regrets so it didn't matter how things turned out.

The 7th mining area issue had already been agreed upon, and North Korea's right to compensation from Japan was a bonus.

The strength slowly drained from Koizumi's eyes.

"Ugh. You're putting too much pressure on me."

Koizumi sighed, pretended to suppress his anger, and continued speaking.

"It is a priority for Chairman Jang Song-taek to personally and officially acknowledge the abductions and return the survivors. If he does so, I will accept $20 billion in compensation."

I suggested we be diplomatic, but you're acting like a fool. I shook my head and spoke firmly.

"It's impossible."

"President Kim Mu-hyeok!"

Koizumi raised his voice again. Looking at him, I spoke calmly.

"If we admit to abducting Japanese people and apologize, what will the Japanese people's reaction be? They will demand that we establish diplomatic relations and pay compensation for the things that happened during the Japanese colonial period. Naturally, they will not feel good about it."

"But didn't the abduction incident happen while Chairman Jang Song-thaek was the ruler?"

"What does that matter to the people? What matters is the fact that North Korea kidnapped Japanese people, their neighbors. The person who hit them may forget as time passes, but the person who was hit will never forget. That is human nature."

The reason I say this is because something like this already happened in my past life.

When North Korea officially acknowledged the abduction of Japanese citizens and apologized, the Japanese media and public strongly criticized North Korea.

The North Korean government took several conciliatory gestures to try to calm Japan's worsening sentiment toward the North, but the criticism only grew worse.

The backlash grew stronger, affecting not only North Korea but also the Japanese government.

The situation grew out of control to the point where they even terrorized their own officials negotiating with North Korea.

In the end, the Japanese government turned its back on public opinion and ended up nullifying all negotiations that had been on the verge of a conclusion.

There was no guarantee that it wouldn't happen again. No, the same situation would definitely happen again.

It is the nature of the Japanese to try to bite you if you show weakness.

"First, pay the compensation, then Prime Minister, go to Pyongyang yourself. Then, have a summit with Chairman Jang Song-taek and receive an apology for the abduction of Japanese citizens. After that, you can take the victims and return to Japan."

Of course, I had no idea what would happen after that.

"What if North Korea accepts the consolation money and pretends not to know? It's not the first or second time they've changed their views."

Both Japan and North Korea have too little trust in each other.

But this was something that could be easily solved.

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"If you don't have faith in North Korea······."

I looked back and forth between Moon Kyung-deok and Koizumi and then continued speaking.

"I will guarantee it. If North Korea changes its position after receiving the compensation, I will return that $20 billion."

Koizumi was speechless and just moved his lips. He seemed quite surprised.

Moon Kyung-deok also looked at me with his mouth wide open, his blunt expression nowhere to be found.

"If I were to offer my guarantee, wouldn't the Prime Minister trust me? I would sell all my assets and return $20 billion to the Japanese government."

"······Are you serious about what you say?"

"When have I ever broken my word to you, Prime Minister?"

"I guess there isn't any."

Still in a dazed voice, Koizumi answered.

I smiled at his appearance and spoke again.

"I will guarantee it even if there is a loss. Then, there will be no problem if you pay the compensation first, right? And the Prime Minister, you need to buy time to come up with a scenario for how to bring in the survivors. Are you going to just sit back and let this great opportunity go to waste?"

Koizumi flinched slightly, as if he hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Are you going to end it with the survivors coming back? There will definitely be deaths. If you don't make a show of it, there will be a lot of criticism."

"Death?"

"Do you really think they're all alive? Of all places, in North Korea? Some people have been kidnapped for over thirty years. Whether they died of natural causes or accidents, there are bound to be dead people."

Moon Kyung-deok coughed uncomfortably and frowned.

But I didn't stop talking.

"Of course, most of the blame will go to North Korea, but there will also be a lot of criticism directed at the Prime Minister."

"I see. I didn't think that far ahead."

"After all, it will take a long time to find survivors and recover the remains of the dead after negotiating compensation. Until then, share information with North Korea and come up with countermeasures. Then, won't you be able to counter Hiroyuki, who is now coming up?"

"That's right. That's right. I was short-sighted."

Koizumi nodded repeatedly and agreed with what I said.

It turns out that I set the table and fed him the food.

I finished speaking with a sigh inwardly.

"What do you think? Do you accept the mediation proposal?"

"Let's do that."

I asked Moon Kyung-deok the same question. The answer I got was as I expected.

"The Republic will do the same."

I nodded and began to organize the negotiation proposal.

< I don't think it's time to get angry > End