Chapter 574: Contact the Kremlin Immediately

I stepped out of the villa where Kim Jong-il was staying and headed back to Pyongyang.

The last conversation with Kim Jong-il kept replaying in my mind.

'When I refused, that man left Pyongyang and returned to Russia.'

Did he really leave for Russia right after the negotiations fell through? It only made me more suspicious.

'What was that man's name?'

'Andrei Solomatin. He was the Second Secretary. Usually, he wouldn't meet someone like me.'

'You don't know who he is, do you?'

'No, and that's what makes it even scarier, doesn't it? This unknown force claims they can block the UN resolution. But there was no trace of deceit in that man's eyes or actions. He was brimming with confidence. The thought of failure didn't even cross his mind.'

'Thank you for the information.'

'Do you know why I'm telling you this?'

'······I don't understand.'

'Jang Seong-taek, that bastard, is too soft. He will end up being a big problem someday. Therefore, Mr. Kim, I need you to assist well. Show them what you can do. I'll be watching.'

If Kim Jong-il was willing to approach someone directly, it meant he believed he could somehow prevent the passage of the Security Council resolution.

Beyond the U.S., China, and Russia, the only countries that could wield veto power were the UK and France.

If not, then······ I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts.

It was too early to make conclusions. I needed to learn more about this Andrei Solomatin guy.

"Let's head to the Russian Embassy."

At my words, the driver looked taken aback.

"What? The Vice Chairman requested you to bring him right away."

"Then make sure to contact Vice Chairman Jang."

The driver briefly paused the car, asking for permission as he reached for the phone installed in the vehicle.

Then, he dialed somewhere.

"Yes. This is Lee Jeong-woo. I urgently need to report to the Vice Chairman. Please connect me."

After a moment, the driver passed the phone, seemingly once Jang Seong-taek picked up.

"Yes. It's Kim Mu-hyeok. Vice Chairman."

― What's going on?

"It seems Chairman Kim isn't considering other options. We'll discuss it in detail later, but for now, I have to go to the Russian Embassy first."

― The Russian Embassy?

Thanks to my firm tone, Jang Seong-taek seemed surprised and asked back.

"Yes. I have something I need to inquire about with them."

― Hmm. Did you have a good conversation with Chairman Kim?

"Yes. It wasn't bad."

― I understand. Go ahead and do that.

"Please inform my subordinate properly. Tell him to take me to the Russian Embassy, but Jang Seong-taek didn't approve of it. You have a good subordinate."

― Haha, understood. Please pass me over.

I handed the receiver back to the driver.

"The phone's switched. This is Lee Jeong-woo. Yes, yes. I'll take care of it, Vice Chairman."

Once the driver hung up, he took hold of the steering wheel again, saying.

"I'll drive you to the Russian Embassy."

The car carrying me slowly picked up speed, heading toward Pyongyang.

It didn't take long before we arrived at the Russian Embassy.

The soldier guarding the entrance tapped on the window and asked in Russian.

"Who are you?"

The driver lowered the window and replied.

Surprisingly, he spoke Russian fluently.

"I brought Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok from Korea."

"Korea? Kim Mu-hyeok? Do you have an appointment?"

The soldier turned to us. At that moment, Manager Ma stepped down to open the car door.

I walked straight toward the soldier and said.

"I don't have an appointment. I came here urgently to contact the Russian Federation."

"You cannot meet the ambassador without an appointment."

"Just tell the ambassador that Kim Mu-hyeok wishes to see him."

"No. There can't be exceptions."

It was a stiff reply from a soldier.

Considering it was an embassy right in the heart of Pyongyang, I could understand.

Instead of pushing harder, I urged more sincerely.

"Just pass on my message. I really came in a hurry. If the ambassador refuses, I'll leave."

After a moment's hesitation, the soldier nodded. He turned his head to speak to his companion.

"Ask the ambassador."

"Yes!"

In the meantime, I addressed the driver sitting in the front seat.

"You can go back now. I'll contact Vice Chairman Jang later."

"No. I'll wait for you."

Since he insisted on waiting, there was no need for me to send him off.

I turned my attention back to the embassy entrance.

It looked like it would take a while before the ambassador came out.

It worked out because I needed time to sort out the chaotic thoughts in my head.

'Andrei Solomatin······. The Second Secretary had the nerve to meet Kim Jong-il directly. Did the Russian ambassador know about this? Or was this a unilateral action?'

As the second secretary, Solomatin was one of the lowest-ranking officials in the Russian Embassy in North Korea.

The very fact that a line proposing a secret meeting with Kim Jong-il existed was unexpected.

This could only have happened with the help of the Russian ambassador or his immediate staff.

How much time had passed? A man presumed to be the Russian ambassador appeared.

He approached me and spoke in Korean.

"You are Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok? I am Alexei Shigorev, the Russian ambassador to North Korea. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yes. I am Kim Mu-hyeok. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I heard you'd be visiting Pyongyang. However, I didn't hear that you'd be coming to our embassy…"

"I had to come urgently to contact the Kremlin."

At the mention of the Kremlin, his eyes widened.

"Are you referring to the Kremlin?"

"Yes. You can contact them directly, right?"

"I can, but······ Let's go inside and talk. There are many eyes here."

I nodded and followed the Russian ambassador inside.

We sat across from each other on the sofa in the ambassador's office.

"Would you like a cup of black tea?"

Alexei asked leisurely. However, I had no intention of leisurely sipping on tea.

"I'm fine. Ambassador, do you know Andrei Solomatin, who worked here?"

"Andrei? Yes, I know him."

"Has he returned to Russia?"

"Yes. He returned to Russia not long ago. But why does Andrei matter······?"

"Are you aware that he met Kim Jong-il in private? Did you send him?"

I scrutinized Alexei with sharp eyes.

"What? What do you mean? Are you saying Secretary Andrei had a private meeting with Chairman Kim? That's impossible."

Either he was genuinely unaware, or his already large eyes widened even further.

"You really didn't know?"

"I truly had no idea. This is my first hearing that from you, Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok."

"How can this be? How could the ambassador not know? There must be only a few people able to contact Chairman Kim directly in the embassy. Surely, a second secretary isn't one of them."

······.

"I'll ask again. You truly know nothing?"

If he didn't know, he was incompetent; if he knew but kept quiet, he was an accomplice.

"······I didn't know."

"Then how many people at the embassy can directly contact Chairman Kim?"

"Other than me and the counselor, it would be very hard for anyone to contact Chairman Kim. Pyongyang is already a closed-off city, and after the coup attempt, the actions of embassy staff have become even more restricted. No, to be precise, they have been under surveillance."

The coup attempt in Pyongyang involved Russian intervention.

Kim Jong-il couldn't eliminate the Russian embassy, so he would have restricted their actions.

But I still hadn't completely eliminated my suspicions about this joker.

"Understood. So, you're saying you knew nothing."

Once I answered vaguely, Alexei slammed the table in frustration.

Then, he stood up abruptly.

"If it's not me, then it has to be the counselor. Bring that bastard here right now!"

His exaggerated behavior only fueled my suspicions further.

However, without hard evidence, I couldn't confront the ambassador.

"That's enough. But before that, we need to focus on Andrei."

"I'll go get the counselor right now."

He didn't seem to understand what I meant. I slowly shook my head.

"Sit down. And contact the Kremlin immediately. You will not leave this room until we capture Andrei."

"What?"

The ambassador asked back, his voice unsteady. I was starting to get irritated and snapped in Russian.

"Sit down. Is that hard to understand?"

At the icy edge of my voice, Alexei gulped.

"Contact the Kremlin immediately."

Perhaps due to his long experience as a diplomat, Alexei quickly regained his composure and sat back down.

But annoyance was written all over his face.

"Hey. Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok, would you kindly extend proper etiquette?"

"This doesn't feel like the time to be courteous, does it? If you didn't know, you're incompetent; if you did know but ignored it, that's a problem. Isn't it?"

"······."

"Contact the Kremlin now."

I was speaking calmly, but inside, I was boiling. If Russia was involved, I felt I'd only get more furious.

Russia certainly knew how hard I had worked on this matter, as well as how far I'd gone.

The audacity to scheme behind my back in a place I was unaware of.

"This problem was decided directly with the owner of the Kremlin. Yet, a second secretary working at the Russian embassy is scheming. Does this still sound like a matter of courtesy, Ambassador Alexei? Contact the Kremlin immediately."

Alexei only bit his lip, making no reply.

"I'm warning you for the last time. Whether you do it or not, I have my methods. I'm giving you a chance. So contact them now."

At my cold words, Alexei trembled and soon nodded.

"Understood. I'll contact them right away."

Alexei picked up the phone beside him and asked.

"Who should I connect to?"

"Head of the Administrative Office Medvedev."

"······I can't get in touch with the Head of the Administrative Office right away."

"Mention my name. That should get you through quickly."

Alexei nodded and dialed somewhere.

"This is Ambassador Alexei. Yes. There's someone who urgently wishes to speak with Head of the Administrative Office Medvedev. Yes, yes. It's Kim Mu-hyeok."

I kept a close watch on Alexei while he contacted Medvedev.

Soon, he turned to me and passed the receiver.

"It's the Minister."

I took the receiver handed over by Alexei. A strange voice came through the phone.

― Is this really Kim Mu-hyeok?

"Yes. This is Kim Mu-hyeok."

― This is Sergey Lavrov. I've just assumed the position of Minister. We met once before, remember?

"Yes. I recall that introduction."

I deliberately answered stiffly, cutting him off. But it seemed like he had grease on his tongue as Sergey smoothly continued.

― I knew you were in Pyongyang. But suddenly you want me to connect with the Head of the Administrative Office? What's going on?

"It's not something I'd want to discuss in front of everyone. After speaking with Head of the Administrative Office Medvedev, you can hear from him."

Drawing a firm line, he stepped back a bit.

― ······I'll let him know right away.

"I'll wait. I'll deal with this rudeness when I get to Moscow."

I handed the receiver back to Alexei.

"Yes, Minister. Understood. I'll inform him accordingly."

As Alexei placed the receiver down, a cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

He nervously pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off.

"He'll contact you immediately."

As I raised an eyebrow, Alexei hastily added.

"I truly had nothing to do with this."

"That will be revealed through the investigation. If you're innocent, there won't be any issues."

Of course, being innocent doesn't mean you'll get through without any problems.

A boss who can't control his subordinates ends up facing grave consequences; I'd probably show that to Alexei.

"Yes, if you capture Secretary Andrei, my innocence will be quickly established."

However, Alexei seemed to firmly believe it and remained silent, simply crossing his arms.

A little while later.

The phone rang loudly.

"Yes. Ambassador Alexei here. Yes, I'll connect you right now!"

With a more serious posture, Alexei took the call and passed the receiver.

― Mr. Kim. This is Medvedev.

"Medvedev. Just one question. Please answer me honestly, without a single lie."

― ······What is it?

"Has Russia ever offered Chairman Kim a proposal for negotiations without my knowledge?"