Cho studied the man. There were only two ways to go: big or not at all. But not too big, or that might invite other attention. Fumbling with his papers, he pulled out a card with more information on the agency he supposedly worked for. Under the card, he tucked three bills, two ten-yuan notes and a precious American twenty-dollar bill. If the common people used the Chinese yuan, the elite used dollars, and there were things that only dollars could buy.
“Here. This is my agency’s headquarters. If I can call them, they will vouch for me. I’ve worked there for many years.” He handed the card and the currency to the major, who took it, thankfully.
Cho could see the man’s mind work again. The major now had the option of turning him in for attempted bribery, but that was extremely rare, and of course the major’s superiors would confiscate the money — all of it. And turning in somebody for bribery didn’t get you points in North Korea.
The major paused for only a moment, then returned the document, neatly palming the bills. “That won’t be necessary. The buses are still running. You can use them to get to Sukchon.”
Cho smiled and thanked the major for his help, then got away from the train station as quickly as possible. His masters would have to be patient, but he’d get to Pyongyang eventually.
They’d left Pyeongtaek the day before, timing their departure for a window when both Russian and Chinese satellites would be below the horizon. It wasn’t certain that the two nations’ intelligence services would inform the North of ROK naval activity, but there was no guarantee they wouldn’t, either.
Colonel Rhee had chafed at the three-hour delay imposed by fleet headquarters at Busan, in spite of the urgency, just as he now chafed at the sub’s ten-knot speed. Although the submarine was capable of twenty knots submerged, that speed would use up its battery too quickly, the captain had explained. High speed also increased the sub’s chance of being detected, especially in the shallow waters of the Yellow Sea.
Even though the stealthy approach made sense, Rhee wanted to hurry. Things were falling apart up north. They all needed to find out what was actually occurring, for many reasons.
The government’s reasons were obvious. The North was a dangerous neighbor and a possible opponent, but the ROK leadership had precious little information about the current state of affairs. Rhee’s mission might give them vital clues about what was happening, or about to happen. The country could then take steps to counter any harmful actions, or at least prepare.
The military needed information on the KPA’s readiness. Reports of deserted outposts and unusual operating patterns left the generals and admirals in the dark. Unstable political situations often bred military adventures, ill-advised but still destructive. And then there was the WMD issue. What was their status? While Rhee’s team couldn’t answer all the questions, much could be deduced from the information they brought back.
There was also the personal angle. Like almost everyone in the south, Rhee had distant relatives in North Korea, ones he’d never met, but still felt connected to. There were still many alive who’d been separated from parents and siblings in the First Korean War. The older generation was now gone, but that made the ties to those left just that much more important.
Family mattered in Korea — a lot. Even though they’d been taught all their lives that the North was an enemy, bent on their destruction or enslavement, that only applied to the regime, to the Kims and their minions. To the average South Korean, the average North Korean was a prisoner in his own country — starved and mistreated. Unification would not just end an evil regime, but liberate their families from lifetimes of suffering.
Rhee could see the impatience in the rest of his team, even in the sub’s thirty three-man crew. Speculation and discussions about what might be happening had taken on a life of its own, and finally the captain had forbidden all discussion of the topic unless it related to Rhee’s mission.
Rhee kept his team busy, distracting them with quizzes about the local geography or other details of the mission, with weapons drills, and even language practice. Aside from regional accents, the language in the North had changed, with slightly different pronunciations and different terms. Rhee and his men would be wearing KPA uniforms, but the game would be over if someone spoke like they’d come from Seoul.
It was a small team, just four men. Rhee had chosen Lieutenant Guk Yong-soo, the platoon leader who’d brought his men across the finish line in under an hour and forty-five minutes. The other two men, Master Sergeant Oh and Corporal Ma, were out of Guk’s platoon. Oh had served two tours in Afghanistan, but the lieutenant and corporal had no combat experience.
General Kwon had first insisted that Rhee have someone else lead the mission, but when he’d realized that his colonel intended to go, and announced the rest of his team, he’d argued against any new men. “Not this first time, Colonel.”
“Especially this first time, sir,” Rhee had countered. “It’s only going to get worse later. It always does. They’re good, and they’ll come back veterans.”
“Make sure you come back with them, Colonel,” Kwon insisted.
Guk and Ma were both thrilled to be chosen for the mission, maybe a little too thrilled in Rhee’s opinion, but Master Sergeant Oh had simply nodded and gone to prepare his gear. Of course, the entire platoon helped them get ready, and they’d flown out for Pyeongtaek naval base later that day.
They left the sub via the lockout chamber, one at a time, first the lieutenant, then Oh, Corporal Ma, and finally Rhee. Because of the sub’s moderate size, and the captain’s considerable skill, they’d managed to close to the ten-fathom line, which would save them a lot of swimming. Rhee shook hands with the captain, thanked him for the smooth trip, and promised to be back at the rendezvous in three days. The sub would loiter along the northern coast, eavesdropping electronically and keeping her batteries topped off.
The Yellow Sea was relatively warm in August. To Rhee, it was almost like bath water, and he surfaced in total darkness. The other three were within meters, and linked up as soon as he appeared. The sub’s captain had put them exactly where he was supposed to. A scan of the surface and the shoreline showed no movement and few lights. Fuel in the North was scarce, and the dark coastline beckoned.
With their bearings established, they submerged again and swam east, into enemy territory. Rhee automatically counted his kicks as he swam, checking the time, depth, and especially direction. He swam through a cool black void, with no up or down, no light except the faint glow of the watch and compass on his wrist when he uncovered them. At times, he thought he felt an eddy or surge of water from one of the other nearby swimmers, but probably not. They tried to move through the water with as little disturbance as possible. Not only did it reduce the chance of being spotted; it saved energy.
It was still over a mile to the shoreline. The seafloor shallowed very slowly, so they’d chosen to come in at high tide, to get as much cover from the water as possible. A half hour into the trip, Rhee was starting to watch the remaining time more frequently. He told himself it was to make sure he didn’t overshoot, and he was mostly right.
The four came up within seconds of each other; four black bumps a hundred meters offshore. His night vision gear showed no activity on the beach, in fact, no sign of human presence at all. Guk, next to him, was making a similar scan, and gave Rhee the “all clear” sign as well. Oh and Ma, on either side, were scanning the sea, and also saw nothing untoward.