Chapter 456

Until just a few days ago, conservative media criticized Heo Chang-min and Kang Jin-hoo, holding hands and selling the country to North Korea.

In this regard, conservative A-Tubes were also attacking by uploading various videos.

But when Kang Jin-hoo broke the negotiating board, everyone couldn’t help but be shocked. Blaming the government is like taking the side after the earthquake, and blaming the government is like taking the side of the government.

The same is true for the New Political Party, which is a headache. Where in the world is there a businessman who can act like that in a meeting of North and South Korean officials?

The ruling party leaders were outraged.

“No, what was Kang Jin-hoo thinking when he said that?”

“I’m going to quietly eat naengmyeon or something. This is not what the government is watering.”

“Even if you paint the president’s face, it’s oily.”

“Right now, inter-Korean relations are on the brink of ice.”

“Who called Kang Jin-hu over there?”

Still, one good thing from the New Politics Party’s point of view is that the public’s attention was focused on the Liberal People’s Party.

“What do you think about CEO Kang Jin-hoo’s actions?”

Representative Yeon Na-kyung, who had been raising her voice at the protest site until yesterday in response to reporters’ questions, quickly changed her words.

“It is not right to provoke North Korea too much. The most important thing is the safety of our people, isn’t it? We must refrain from actions that endanger the people.”

The Japanese media carefully reported on President Yeon Na-kyung’s remarks and poured out skeptical and negative articles about inter-Korean economic cooperation.

– No, what the hell are you talking about?

-If you talk to North Korea, you say you should, and if you say you don’t, you say you don’t.

– It seems to represent the Japanese position.

-Yeon Kazaki is patriotic today too! Ganbate!

– This is our constituency member. Sorry. I’m sorry for everything

-So, is Jinhoo Kang left-wing or right-wing?

* * *

I met President Vysotsky.

Russia is the largest country in the world, but has a population of only about 150 million. Therefore, there are many areas that are underdeveloped, and capital is required to develop them.

Because of this, he was busy visiting delegations and businessmen from around the world. These days, he doesn’t even seem to be late, and he seems to make good use of time for talks.

He burst out laughing as soon as he saw me.

“Haha, you gave North Korea a good shot. So why did you say that? Chairman Kim is well aware that there is no way to guarantee the progress of the project.”

“It is.”

It would be even more impossible in the circumstances in which I spoke. In a situation like the present one, it might seem like you’re doing it with your back being pushed.

After a while, President Vysotsky stopped laughing and said with a serious expression.

“The role of North Korea is very important in the development of the Far East.”

“I know.”

It was in the early 2000s that the Rajin-Hasan project and the railroad and gas pipeline connection were first talked about. If all goes well, the railroad between Korea and Russia will be running sooner or later.

It will cost trillions of won, but considering the economic benefits that will occur in the future, it is nothing.

Therefore, both Korea and Russia are active, but… … .

“The problem is still the will of the North Korean side.”

President Vysotsky nodded his head.

“What do you think? Do you think the business will go down again?”

“I do not know.”

The railway and gas pipeline connection project is carried out in such a way that Russia, a ally of North Korea, invests, and South Korea takes over a stake in Russia.

It’s such a big business, so once development starts, it’s not easy to stop. That’s why North Korea keeps saying it’s doing it and it’s just watching.

Do you really intend to connect the railroad and gas pipelines, or is the rim just ringing again?

North Korea does not need to spend a single penny on this project. All you have to do is sit back and collect your money in return for letting them pass through the territory.

If it had been in another country, they would have been begging them to provide various types of support, whether it be railroads or gas pipelines.

Common sense, it is normal to do it unconditionally. The problem is that North Korea is a country where common sense does not work.

You can see just how much President Vysotsky is paying attention to this project by holding various events and forums in Vladivostok.

There are three main reasons for such active development in the Far East.

The first is to contain Chinese capital.

As with all border countries, Russia and China have been through border disputes for a long time. Following the Treaty of Nerchinsk, the border was confirmed by signing the Treaty of Beijing in exchange for mediating the Second Opium War.

As a result of the treaty, the territories of the Primorsky Territory were transferred to Russia. At that time, the Qing dynasty was at its weakest, and China regarded it as an unequal treaty. Currently, Chinese capital and manpower are pouring in and exercising their power in the Primorsky Sea.

From the Russian perspective, if the Far East is left in a backward state as it is, it could be transferred to Chinese capital, so it is necessary to proceed with development quickly.

The second reason is the North Pole Passage.

For most countries, global warming is a disaster. But Russia is different. Due to global warming, the Arctic ice has melted and the Northern Sea Route has begun to open. This will dramatically shorten the shipping route from the Far East to Europe.

The third and final reason is that the Asian market has grown in importance due to Western sanctions.

What would happen if a railroad and gas pipeline were connected through North Korea?

Added value is created even if the goods in area A go only to area B. When people and goods come and go through railroads, the local economy naturally develops.

If the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Trans-Korean Railway are connected, it will be possible to transport not only to Korea, but also to Japan. The gas pipeline could also be extended to Japan in the future.

The Far East, which used to be a frontier, will be reborn as the center of East Asia!

One of Russia’s ambitions is to build the TWR following Kaliningrad.

Building a nuclear power plant is to attract industrial complexes. But even considering that, the number of reactors is large.

Perhaps it was because they considered selling electricity to North Korea in the future. Electricity is needed for economic development in Rajin.

“We’re not the only ones interested here.”

Politicians from the United States, China, and Japan are also showing great interest in this matter. This is because the geopolitical location of the Korean Peninsula is so important.

At present, relations between the United States and Russia are very friendly. First of all, the US foreign strategy is that President Ronald is close with President Vysotsky and holds hands with Russia to contain China. So, I’m not going to tackle anything special on this one.

It seems like Japan doesn’t like it, but I don’t have to worry about it anyway, so I pass.

Another question is Chinese?

“After a long time in politics, you realize how important timing is. President Huh Chang-min has a strong will, and North Korea needs money. And there are some of the richest investors in the world.”

I laughed at that.

“I am willing to do my best to help.”

* * *

It’s been awhile since the North Korean media have been accusing me of being an asshole in the world.

I sensed that the atmosphere was going strangely, so at some point I shut my mouth. Instead of withdrawing, the North Korean negotiating team worked hard to improve negative perceptions about investment in North Korea by contacting China and Russia under the water.

The South Korean negotiating team watched the situation without taking a stand.

I met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Seong-cheol. The reason he came instead of the Minister of Unification was probably because he had known each other before.

After a short greeting, he immediately talked about the main point.

“The North Korean side is putting pressure on our government, saying that we can hold inter-Korean talks in the future only if Representative Kang Jin-hoo apologizes.”

“So what did you say?”

“I was telling the truth. It’s not something the government can control.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Did you believe it?”

“If you look at what has happened so far, you can easily tell that it is not a lie.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Seong-cheol continued to speak.

“It’s true that I don’t say it, but there are a lot of cool people in the negotiating team. In the meantime, North Korea has been wasting time by overturning the board or having a conversation for the sake of dialogue if it’s a little sloppy. It doesn’t work this time, so I’m confused. Of course, we keep asking for an apology.”

“I have no intention of apologizing.”

He nodded.



“I thought you would.”

“There seems to be some misunderstanding, but my point was not to criticize North Korea, but to advice for successful economic cooperation. As I am well aware that this economic cooperation is important and of great benefit, I will clarify that point. It would be nice to see that the pressure and persuasion from the government worked.”

Anyway, it is a situation in which we have to say a positive position even because of Russia, which is pursuing work. Wouldn’t it be better to save the government’s face as soon as possible?

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Seong-cheol was not happy with my words.

“Thank you for doing that. We will talk about that with the North Korean side.”

As I am not investing myself, the rest is up to the government to take care of.

Where can the government have one or two experts on North Korea? If you put a plate like this, they’ll do just fine. That’s how you get paid with taxes.

* * *

Professor Petrov and Professor Mohan have arrived in Vladivostok.

Carrie, an assistant professor, was also there. We met after a long time and greeted each other warmly, and I introduced Ellie.

Eli was delighted and she greeted them both. I’ve met Professor Mohan before, but this is the first time I’ve met Professor Petrov.

Professor Mohan said with a smile.

“I was wondering when they would get married, and they finally do.”

Professor Petrov asked.

“When is the wedding?”

“It’s next spring.”

“Haha, it’s been a while.”

Professor Petrov is coming from Kaliningrad. Even if the experiment was successful, he did not know what problems would arise during the commercialization process, so he stayed at the construction site and checked the problems himself.

It is difficult to commercialize anything, but as he developed the technology with commercialization in mind from the beginning, there were no major problems. So he decided to build it in Vladivostok too.

We held a joint lecture at the Far Eastern Federal University at the request of the forum organizer.

The Far Eastern Federal University is the largest university in the Far East, and it is also the place where the first Korean language department was opened in Russia.

Students flocked to the large auditorium like clouds. The seats were full, and the simple chairs placed in each aisle were also full.

Eli said looking around the full auditorium.

“Hmm, after all, Russia has a lot of beautiful women. I think there are a lot of Jinhoo fans among me.”

“Still, Ellie is the prettiest.”

At my words, she smiled.

“You have to keep saying that.”(Read more @ wuxiax.com)

Russian students were very enthusiastic about learning. All of them showed great interest in the future development of inter-Korean relations and the development of the Far East.

I talked about a rosy future for inter-Korean economic cooperation and development in the Far East.

“If North and South Korea are connected by rail and gas pipelines are extended, Vladivostok will become a central city in East Asia on the far east. For that to happen, this project must be successful. We ask all students to pay attention and watch over us.”

* * *

After the important work and meeting was over, I could barely breathe.



It was only a few days, probably because there were a lot of accidents, but somehow it felt like a long time. I want to go home soon.

Ellie let out a long sigh.

“I came here and did a really good job,” she said. I can’t even play properly.”

“You mean you’re here to work?”

At my words, Ellie pouted her lips.

“Still, it’s too much to just go back and forth between the hotel and the forum. I didn’t even go to the hotel pool a few times.”

“Iknow, right.”

Still, Ellie was by her side, so she wasn’t bored.

She said Ellie, she seemed to have made up her mind soon.

“I can’t. Go out on a date tonight!”

“A date?”

“If you come all the way here, you should visit the city at least once.”

“Isn’t it hard?”

You might be tired, but unlike me, you are full of stamina.

I was led by Eli’s hand and headed to Arbat Street, a hot place in Vladivostok.

The shape of the buildings in the city was a little different from that of Moscow. After all, it’s the same country, about 9000km away. If you take the Trans-Siberian Railway, you have to travel for a week.

Ellie, who is of mixed race, doesn’t stand out that much, and there are a lot of foreigners, so it’s hard to recognize us.

… … I thought, that was a big mistake.

The streets were heaven and earth for Koreans. No joke, there were more Koreans than Russians.

“uh! Isn’t that person Kang Jin-hoo?”

“I heard that you are attending the Asian Economic Forum, and you are really here.”

“Wow! You will see Jinhoo Kang here.”

“Can I take a picture?”

Since when has Vladivostok been such a popular tourist destination?

We enjoyed dating without paying attention to people’s gaze.

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