Red Phoenix Burning

by Larry Bond

Hoping that if they were double-crossers, they were also bad shots, he stood, moving slowly, and said, “Colonel Rhee Han-gil, ROK Special Forces.”

  “Captain Tak Ho-rim, DPRK Reconnaissance Bureau.” Tak didn’t mention allegiance to any faction, but it didn’t really matter. “Where’s the rest of your team?” Tak asked.

  “They are ready to stand down, if your men are as well.”

  Tak sighed. “There’s nothing to fight about—at the moment,” he added.

  The two sides rose to their feet slowly, weapons lowered, but everyone seemed reluctant to sling them. “We have two men wounded,” Tak announced.

  Rhee motioned to Corporal Ban, who was the team medic as well as their sniper. He hurried in the direction Tak had indicated.

  “What’s this about the Chinese army?” Tak demanded.

  Corporal Dae reported, “Sir, the UAV has movement on the highway.” Dae offered the colonel a video tablet.

  Feigning more nonchalance than he felt, Rhee took the tablet and invited Tak to look as well. Curious, the captain slung his assault rifle and walked over, standing next to Rhee.

  “This is National Route 1,” Dae explained, which ran down from the north and led to their bridge. The infrared image showed a straight section of highway. It was filled with a long column of armored fighting vehicles, smaller ones in the vanguard and a phalanx of main battle tanks in the center. They were heading south.

  Rhee looked at the readouts from the drone. “You’ve got the UAV moving south.”

  “Pacing the front of the column,” Dae explained. “About thirty kilometers an hour.”

  “And the drone is less than thirty kilometers from here,” Rhee observed, checking its location. No time to waste. “Lieutenant Guk, monitor the UAV and use the binoculars to watch the far side of the river. Call out if you see any movement. Master Sergeant, Corporal Dae, get the transmitter set up. Ban, as soon as you’ve treated the wounded, set up to cover the bridge.” If the main column was within thirty kilometers, there could be more scouts closer than that—much closer.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Tak demanded angrily, and Rhee explained about the transmitter and how it would help guide the missiles.

  The explanation only made the North Korean angrier. “Your aircraft are spying on our country. You are sending missiles to destroy our bridges. When will you leave us alone?”

  Rhee tried to stay calm. He also had leftover adrenaline from the battle. “Should we have let the Chinese kill you?”

  Ban walked up and reported, “Sir, I’ve treated them, both bullet wounds. They need to be evacuated, but they should be all right once they’re in hospital.” Turning to the captain, he added, “There are five others, already dead. I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything for them.”

  Tak acknowledged the report with a nod. “We just wanted to be left alone,” he said sadly, but his anger flashed again. “You’ve destroyed my country, and now the Chinese are jumping in to help finish us off. We won’t go down quietly!”

  The remnants of Tak’s force, just four more men, had gathered behind their commander. As opposed to the well-equipped Southerners, the group carried basic AKM assault rifles. Rhee saw one handheld night vision scope. They looked underfed and battered by weeks of combat. Rhee wanted them to lose, but they were still Koreans. There was no joy in winning a civil war.

  Rhee checked Oh and Dae’s progress. They had unfolded the transmitter, and were taking readings with a laser rangefinder. They weren’t done yet, but would be soon. There was no time for an extended political discussion, but he had to try.

  Rhee spoke to the entire group. “We don’t have to fight anymore. The two factions fighting each other in Pyongyang have stopped and joined with the ROK Army. They’re turning to face the Chinese as a single force. Come back with us. Your wounded will get excellent medical care, and—”

  “Desertion!” Tak shouted. “Betrayal!” one of Tak’s men added. Another said, “Surrender? I don’t want to be a prisoner.”

  “You will not be prisoners. Wouldn’t you rather fight our common enemy, the Chinese?” Rhee proposed hopefully.

  “It’s all lies anyway,” Tak concluded.

  “Are the Chinese a lie?” Rhee countered, pointing to the corpses.

  “Colonel, the transmitter checks out and is calibrated,” Oh reported. Rhee could see him gesturing with a thumbs-up.

  “Dae, send the message,” Rhee ordered, frustrated. At least the original part of his mission was proceeding. A moment later, the corporal said, “Message received. Six and a half minutes.”

  But the radio gave him an idea. Rhee said, “Now contact Third Army, and see if we can get in comms with General Tae. He should be at General Sohn’s headquarters.”

  Rhee turned back to Tak and his men. “I’m going to get you proof that the North and South have joined forces—there is only one Korea!”

  Tak and the others shook their heads, but one of his men asked, “What happened in Pyongyang? We’ve had no word since the city was surrounded.”

  By the time Rhee had explained about the ROK’s truce with Tae’s forces in the city, Dae announced, “The headquarters staff is waking General Tae now.”

  Rhee checked his watch. The missiles were just under four minutes out. The receiver came alive with static, and then, “This is General Tae Seok-won.”

  “Sir, this is Colonel Rhee. We met on the southern bank of the Taedong River a few days ago.”

  “The Special Forces brigade commander. I remember you.” The flat statement held a question.

  Rhee explained where he was, and who he was with. The general listened quietly, then said, “Let me speak with the captain.”

  Rhee passed the handset to the captain. Dae turned up the volume, and Tak held the receiver so everyone could hear. “This is Tae Seok-won of the General Staff.”

  Tak’s men recognized the name. Some came to attention. Tak did not, but discipline held enough for him to respond. “Captain Tak Ho-rim, Fifth Reconnaissance Battalion. There is no more General Staff, and my leaders say you are responsible for the fifteenth of August and the war.”

  “The General Staff is gone, but there still is a Korea, and it needs to be protected. I have many divisions under my command, and we’re going to stop the Chinese army. What are you fighting for? Your cause is lost. Join us, and fight for your home.”

  “You are not the rightful leaders of our country!”

  “Kim’s rule is ended. It cannot be restored.”

  Tak just shook his head, and gave the handset back to Rhee. After Rhee signed off, Guk announced, “Two minutes.”

  Everyone looked toward the bridge, and began taking cover. If a missile missed the bridge at all, it might miss by more than a little bit.

  “Dae, signal the helicopter. Give them our location for immediate extraction.” It didn’t matter if the missiles hit or missed. Their job was done, and there was nothing more they could do. And while the sound of small-arms fire might not reach to the troops in the city, the imminent explosions would attract unwelcome visitors to the hill.

  Master Sergeant Oh waited near the transmitter, and when he saw Rhee watching, gave another thumbs-up. Everything was working properly.

  The laser rangefinders said they were four hundred meters away from the bridge, but he was taking no chances. Rhee was prone, behind cover. Watching through binoculars, he half-expected to see Chinese vehicles approaching the far end.

  The first sign of the missiles’ arrival was a roar and fireball at the base of the bridge’s center pier. A second blossomed at almost the same spot half a second later, and quickly looking left down the valley, Rhee spotted four small sparks in a line, moving too fast to follow, each hammering the same spot on the bridge pier.

  Each Hyunmyoo missile had a half-ton warhead, and the impact point was on the west side of the bridge, at the base of the center pier. To Rhee it looked not like one explosion, but the same explosion lasting six times as long, blasting and tearing a
t the concrete, until the span on each side began to sag, and finally collapsed into the river.

  Rhee was glad they were so far away. He’d felt the pressure wave from each blast pass over him, and his ears rang with echoes of the explosions.

  Oh was already breaking down the transmitter. They’d take it back out with them. Dae reported, “The helicopter’s ETA is fifteen minutes.”

  They had to move back down the hill, to flatter ground. Still hopeful, Rhee turned to Tak’s men. There were seven, counting the wounded. “It will be tight, but there’s room for all of you. I promise you will not be imprisoned or punished.” Looking directly at Tak, he asked, “At least let me take your injured men with us. They’ll be in a first-class hospital within an hour.”

  After a pause, one of Tak’s men spoke up. “My family is south of the capital, if they’re still alive. I’ll go. I can help carry the wounded.” A second man said, “I’ll go, too.” The remaining two looked at Tak, who said, “I’m staying, but go if you wish,” and they hurried to help the others.

  The group organized themselves for the trip, each pair of Northerners carrying a wounded comrade. They stacked their weapons and other gear they wouldn’t need.

  Rhee should have been satisfied, but in the face of Tak’s stubbornness, he felt like a failure. He urged, “It’s a new chance for you.”

  Everyone looked at Tak expectantly, but he shook his head, and Rhee gave the order to move out. They had a ride to catch. As he turned to leave, Rhee hesitated, and asked, “Why stay?”

  Tak answered, “Because I can’t imagine anything else.” The captain turned and slung his rifle, and walked south toward town.

  Rhee watched the captain disappear, then headed west, down his side of the hill.

  5 September 2015, 9:00 a.m. EDT

  CNN Special Report

  “The European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have both agreed to impose economic sanctions on China, restricting both Chinese-manufactured goods and sales to China, especially of ‘dual-use’ items, items that have both civil and military applications. Among other things, this has affected a multibillion-euro joint helicopter program with France, and numerous instrument and computer sales to the People’s Republic of China.

  “This follows the passage of a sanctions bill by both houses of Congress and awaiting the president’s signature. Secretary of State Marie Baldwin spoke after the bill’s passage, saying, ‘China’s attempt to somehow preserve or sustain its client state is both misguided and harmful to the entire Asian region. Sanctions always hurt both trading partners, but the short-term cost to us must be weighed against the potential damage the DPRK could still inflict.’

  “In related news, units of the US Seventh fleet have entered the shallow waters of the Yellow Sea with the publicly stated purpose of blocking any action by the nearby Chinese navy against either the Republic of Korea or the former DPRK. Many Chinese naval bases line the eastern and northern sides of this body of water, half the size of the Gulf of Mexico.

  “A US Navy spokesman says that while he cannot discuss the precise location of naval vessels, he reported that Chinese and American warships are already ‘well within weapons range of each other.’

  “The only public reaction from China to these latest developments was a statement released by the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations that ‘China would not be intimidated or deterred from acting in its own legitimate security interests.’”

  Chapter 18 - Confrontation

  5 September 2015, 1300 local time

  Third Army Field Headquarters

  Outside Taedong, North Korea

  With Operation Gangrim winding down, Rhee Han-gil had expected the summons to General Sohn’s headquarters. He would report not only on his own recent mission, but the Ghost Brigade’s operations as a whole. As his helicopter approached from the air, he could see the whole complex, sprawled more than half a kilometer on each side, with untidy clusters of tents, vans, and vehicle parks. He also noted antiaircraft emplacements that were thankfully idle. Lanes for vehicles wound through the base, raising dust that hung in the hot air until it found someone to cling to. Its size was appropriate, since it was the forward headquarters for the entire ROK Third Army.

  Rhee was met by an anxious aide as soon as his helicopter landed, who led him through the camp to the commander’s area. They were meeting in the open, in a tent with three sides rolled up, the fourth shading them from the afternoon sun. A cluster of officers worked at laptops to one side. It was a familiar scene, until he noticed that at least a third of the soldiers in the tent were wearing DPRK uniforms. The sight bumped up hard against a lifetime of upbringing, as well as his entire army career. Intellectually, he wasn’t opposed to the idea, but it did take some getting used to.

  A senior officer in a North Korean uniform stepped outside. Rhee immediately recognized General Tae. The aide saluted the general, and then left. Rhee also saluted the former DPRK general, who returned it and offered his hand.

  “Thank you for not killing those men outside Anju.”

  “You were the one who convinced them to join us, General,” Rhee replied.

  Tae nodded, then said, “I’m really speaking of Captain Tak. You didn’t shoot him, even though he refused to come with you. We might have to fight him some day soon.”

  Rhee disagreed, as politely as he could with a general. “You can’t change a dead man’s mind, sir. I can’t really think of ‘North’ and ‘South’ Korea any more.” Rhee paused, meaning to say more, but realized that Tae probably thought about the issue differently. He started to apologize, but Tae stopped him.

  “I could not imagine that I would be here, in this place,” Tae explained, “but in truth, I could not imagine any kind of future living under the Kims. To stay sane in the DPRK, one had to live day to day.”

  The aide reappeared. “General Tae, Colonel Rhee, General Sohn has arrived.”

  Officially, Rhee was reporting to his immediate superior, General Kwon, but General Sohn, commanding the ROK Third Army, and Tae, representing the former Northern forces, sat in, listening and asking questions.

  After describing his own mission, Rhee briefed them about the Ghost Brigade’s operations in the last phase of Operation Gangrim. He used a map that showed the Korean Peninsula north of Pyongyang, marked with lines showing both the Chinese advance, the suspected positions of the Kim faction holdouts, and the “United Han” forces. He stumbled a little over the phrase, and apologized.

  “It’s not official yet,” Sohn cautioned the group. “The National Assembly is still arguing over whether it should be ‘United Han’ or ‘Great Han’ Republic. At least they’re leaving the flag alone.”

  “‘Han’ is a good name,” Tae added. “There’s history behind it. I believe most Northerners will be able to identify with it, in time.”

  For Rhee’s Ghosts, Gangrim had been a tremendous tactical success, but also a strategic failure. Although they’d struck dozens of targets, and captured or destroyed the vast majority of the North’s chemical weapons, none of the missions had yielded a single nuclear warhead. Nobody was naïve enough to believe that the Kims’ claims of possessing nuclear weapons had been all bluster. The DPRK had actually detonated several devices. They were there, somewhere.

  “They may have been in the area the Chinese have occupied,” suggested Kwon hopefully.

  Tae shook his head. “Unlikely. Most of the General Staff was unaware of their true location, including myself, but the Kims were always worried about the threat of a Chinese invasion.” Gesturing toward the map, he explained, “This is exactly what Kim Jung-un was afraid of. I always believed they were kept somewhere close to the capital. And it doesn’t really matter where they were. They certainly could be moved, and almost certainly have been, into the holdouts’ strongest, most secure location.”

  “They’re in there. They have to be,” Sohn declared, pointing to the marked area on the map.

  It was a swee
ping assumption, but probably correct, Rhee believed. The Chinese army had advanced as far south as the Chongchon River, which ran roughly east-west across the peninsula. The Han forces, and a few US Eighth Army units, were still some forty kilometers to the south, organizing near Sukchon and Sunchon.

  Having delivered his brief, Rhee expected to be dismissed, and began to gather his notes and tablet, but General Kwon said, “Please remain, Colonel. This discussion will affect you and your men, and we would welcome your ideas.”

  Sohn’s intelligence officer, a colonel as well, briefed them all on what was known about “the Stronghold.” Scouts were well north of the Han army, watching and searching for the Chinese as well as the Northern holdouts. The scouts’ progress, or sometimes lack of it, had allowed them to draw a border around the Kim faction’s probable refuge.

  From the city of Anju east to Lake Yonpung, south to Sunchon, then west to Sukchon and back north to Anju, an irregular rectangle enclosed a sparsely settled region filled with rugged, heavily wooded mountains, and threaded with river valleys. Numerous intel reports had all came to the same conclusion. The Kim faction had retreated into the highly defendable area, which not only held several army bases, but also a missile base and an airfield. It was also very likely that there were other installations built secretly into the rocky landscape.

  “The Kim faction pulled a lot of their best antiaircraft units into the area, so we have very little information from aerial reconnaissance, either by manned aircraft or UAVs. So many UAVs have been shot down that we can’t afford to lose the rest. We are using what’s left to track the Chinese forces, although it’s your prerogative, General, if you want to change their tasking.”

  Sohn shook his head. “No. We need to know about Chinese movements as well. I don’t like fighting two different enemies at the same time.”

  “But our enemies can also fight each other,” the intelligence officer responded happily. “The northern edge of the Stronghold is on the south side of the Chongchon River. It’s likely that the Chinese will be able to attack soon. They’re bringing up bridging equipment, as well as more artillery, so they can force a crossing.”