“Lower your weapons!” barked Tae. “We are not here to fight! Get it through your thick skulls our mission is to secure a truce with our former enemies, so we can fight off the Chinese. I will not tolerate any action, even a defensive one, which might ruin our chances of success. Is that clear?”
The two commandos hesitated, then slowly lowered their assault rifles. Their expressions exposed the struggle they had fighting deep-rooted instincts. Seeing the edgy look on their faces, Tae said, “I know what I’m telling you conflicts with everything you’ve been trained for. I understand that. But the simple fact of the matter is, none of us were trained to deal with our country falling apart. Follow my orders and we will succeed in preserving our land. The future government will be different, of that I am sure, but this is still our home. And we must protect it from foreign invaders.”
Tae then turned and strode off the dock and up the ramp toward the road. Silently, he wondered just how far they would get before being challenged. When they reached the road, Tae stopped, looked around, and motioned for his party to form a line. Then, in a loud voice he ordered, “Raise your weapons, remove the magazines, and clear the chambers.”
The commandos slowly lifted their assault rifles, carefully removed the magazines, and placed them in their tactical belts. The soldiers then cleared the chambers, showing the weapons were now completely disarmed.
“Sling arms,” commanded Tae. In an almost drill-like fashion, the men placed their weapons over their right shoulders. The general nodded and ordered, “Forward, march.”
They had barely taken ten steps when a loud voice sounded out from the mound of sand and gravel. “That is far enough. Halt and identify yourself.”
Tae grinned as he signaled the group to stop. They’d gotten about as far as he expected. Clearing his throat, he shouted, “I am General Tae Seok-won, commander of the Korean People’s Army. I’m here to discuss terms for the surrender of Pyongyang.”
After Tae’s announcement, the North Korean contingent stood quietly, waiting for a response. When it didn’t come, Tae called out again, “Did you hear me? I said I’m here to discuss terms for the surrender of Pyongyang.”
Behind a small heap of sand, Rhee stood in stunned silence; his expression was one of complete amazement. This was absolutely the last thing he expected to hear. Pointing over his shoulder, he said in English, “The man says he’s General Tae Seok-won. He wants to discuss terms for the surrender of Pyongyang.”
Kevin was equally shocked, but whispered, “I heard him! My Korean’s not that bad.” After a moment, the American urged, “Answer him, Rhee!”
“How do you respond to that?” exclaimed Rhee in a hushed, but intense voice.
“You can start by acknowledging his presence,” instructed Kevin. “I’ll try and find out if this guy is really Tae.”
Both of them knew from intelligence briefings that Tae was a senior member of the General Staff faction. The most recent reports had listed him as the likely commander of the troops in the capital. Before the coup began, the general had commanded the DPRK’s Chemical Directorate, and intelligence had linked him to the sarin gas attack in Pyongyang. While Rhee gathered his thoughts, Kevin got on the radio.
Finally, Rhee turned in the direction of the North Korean party and shouted, “Yes, General, I heard you. I’m just a little surprised by your offer.”
Tae smiled. His plan appeared to have worked. The South Korean’s delayed reply suggested his confusion was genuine; Tae could only hope that an equal bewilderment had started to percolate up the chain of command. “Yes, I’m sure you are,” remarked the general. “However, I’m not accustomed to negotiating with a pile of rock. Show yourselves. You know my men’s weapons have been rendered safe.”
Rhee turned back toward Kevin. There was a faint smile on his face. “Well, he certainly sounds like a general.”
“If you don’t wish to discuss my terms, we can just go back to fighting each other. My men are more than willing to make your visit to Pyongyang very interesting,” shouted Tae. There was a note of annoyance in his voice.
“Yep, that’s a general,” observed Kevin. “And he’s getting pissed.”
Rhee exhaled sharply. “I suppose we should go out and hear what he has to say.”
“That would be the sensible thing to do.”
“I suppose I should salute him too,” grumbled Rhee. Kevin just shrugged his shoulders.
After taking another deep breath, Rhee instructed his team, “Follow my lead, weapons ready.” He then counted to three with his fingers. Once he reached three, the Korean colonel slowly walked out from behind the mound. Kevin and the other team members followed.
Tae saw five men suddenly appear to his left, their weapons raised. He signaled his people to stand fast and spoke quietly, “Stay at ease. If they wanted to kill us, we would already be dead.”
Rhee approached the North Koreans cautiously. Kevin stayed to his left, while the three commandos fanned out to the right. They walked slowly, careful not to do anything that could be interpreted as a hostile act, and stopped some ten meters from Tae. Lowering his weapon, Rhee came to attention and rendered a smart salute. Kevin followed suit. Pleasantly surprised, Tae returned the honor.
“I see you are well disciplined,” commented the general. “I assume I’m in the presence of a ROK Special Forces unit?”
“You would be correct, sir,” answered Rhee. “I am Colonel Rhee Han-gil, commander, Ninth Special Forces Brigade. This is Colonel Kevin Little, US Eighth Army.”
Tae bowed slightly and pointed to his right. “This is my aide, Major Ryeon Jae-gon. My security guards are Reconnaissance Bureau soldiers.” Ryeon rendered a salute once the general mentioned his name.
Rhee returned the salute and then looked closely at the two commandos; they were just as uneasy about the meeting as he was. From his earliest days in the ROK Army, Rhee had been taught to despise the Reconnaissance Bureau. Their skill and ruthlessness was well known and feared. Still, Rhee recognized these men were peers of a sort and deserving of respect. He bowed lightly in their direction. They reciprocated his acknowledgment.
“You said you wanted to discuss terms for the surrender of Pyongyang, General. I’m listening,” Rhee stated firmly.
“Yes, Colonel, but in truth, it’s more than just Pyongyang. If my terms are accepted, I’ll order all units loyal to the General Staff and Korean Workers’ Party, throughout the country, to cease hostilities against Republic of Korea and American forces. I’ll also order the surrender of all weapons of mass destruction possessed by both groups to ROK or American units.”
Rhee’s mind whirled. The general was offering an opportunity to end the fighting between the Korean peoples. But there was still the issue of his terms. Forcing himself to speak calmly, he replied, “That is a very attractive offer, General. What are your demands?”
Tae frowned. “‘Demands’ is a very undiplomatic word, Colonel. I prefer to call them ‘conditions.’”
“Of course, sir. What are your conditions?” solicited Rhee as politely as he could. His curiosity grew with Tae’s measured response. Diplomatic niceties were rarely a matter of concern to a North Korean general officer.
Walking slowly toward Rhee, Tae offered him a handwritten document as he began what was obviously a well-rehearsed statement.
“First, the Republic of Korea officially pledges to take control of the former Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s territory.