Road To Reelection : Fragile Relations

Chapter 5 : Diplomatic crosshairs

White House

Stepping into the West Wing I headed straight towards the Roosevelt Room. The President also asked for Bruce's presence which has interrupted his training regiment with Duke. Entering the Roosevelt Room I immediately felt the urgency as I found myself seeing the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dominic Hayes, Secretary of State Caroline Harris and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. The President gestured the both of us to sit and the door is closed. "What happened?" the President asked. 

"We've received reports of an explosion in the Yellow Sea region at 9pm Eastern Time, a destroyer in the name of Gwanggaeto the Great class destroyer was blown up by an unknown navy ship as the ship is rescuing a boat of North Korean defectors."

"Anything important?" President Reagan asked.

"The Chief of Naval Operations is onboard at the time when-" I spat out the water I'm currently drinking, spraying some on my father's coat. "-when the destroyer was attacked."

"Come again?" I asked. "What's the name?"

"Admiral Kim Han Dong."

"Shit." I said, bolting from my chair. 

"You're not going anywhere Madam Vice President." President Reagan said. "The South Koreans are on their way."

"Who is coming?" I asked, my nerves already on edge when I sat back down. 

"The President of South Korea, along with our counterparts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

"Excuse me Mr. President, excuse me Madam Vice President." Secret Service Agent Andrew Barrowman enters the room. "The South Koreans are here."

"Send them in." President Reagan ordered. He knows my uncles are in the military but wasn't told about their real posts in the Armed Forces. Ten minutes later footsteps were heard and the door of the Roosevelt Room is opened again. President Kang Han Hae walked in first, followed by a small group of men dressed in similar fashion to the Secret Service. A man followed beside him, carrying a briefcase probably carrying sensitive documents then four more men walked in, all wearing military service uniforms. I leaned back in my chair in relief as my uncle, Admiral Kim Han Dong, came in with a sling on his arm in relative safety. The admiral, nodded stoicly at me as the South Korean delegates sat on the opposite side of the table. As both presidents exchanged handshakes Dominic noticed the interactions between me and the three heads of the South Korean Armed Forces. Not much people know that my uncles are appointed members of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff when President Kang Han Hae took power which is three years ago. The rest of us exchanged handshakes and sat down. "I'm honestly surprised that you've decided to come here instead of going on video conference." he said. "You must be worried Mr. President."

"It is a miracle that the crew onboard the destroyer managed to escape despite casualties later on." the President said. "We know who is behind this."

"One question : why come here for our assistance?" I asked. "If I'm not mistaken President Kang, but I believe that your country's military is strong on itself."

"Yes I acknowledge that, but this isn't a problem that I can solve alone."

"Which?" I asked. 

"Maybe you should listen to President Kang first before passing judgement." President Reagan said.

"Okay." I said. "Whatever you say Mr. President."

"Show them." President Kang told the man in Korean. Everybody puts on their translation earpieces except President Reagan and me. Unlocking the briefcase the man withdrew several documents including photos of the incident and begins his explanation. 

"As you have been briefed earlier Mr. President, at nine pm on the Yellow Sea our destroyer, Gwanggaeto The Great, was destroyed by a missile fired from an unidentified warship at that time." he said, displaying a photo of the now wrecked destroyer then he held up a rough sketch of the suspected missile. "We have traced the missile's source, it's North Korean origin." Hearing this President Reagan and I went deadpan immediately. This hostile nation is infamously known for it's aggressive approach towards the West especially America and South Korea. "We can't confront the said authority because of the lack of evidence. However, the launching of several missiles lately is a worrying statement. Because it's nuclear missiles, we suspect that they didn't end the nuclear program as your predecessor agreed on with Supreme Leader Han Ki Nam.  

"He wasn't the type, trust me." President Reagan and me said in unison. Everybody on our side nodded in confirmation.

"We found out the truth when you were sworn in President Reagan." the man said. "The money, the so-called two billion dollars in food aid sir? It ended up in the nuclear development program."

"Son of a bitch." President Reagan cursed. 

"One of the defectors rescued by the crew onboard the destroyer backs up the claim with actual proof of the transaction. But he had one condition."

"And what is that?"

"He wants the Vice President of the United States to free his brother." the man said. "His brother is being held under house arrest in your country. He is confident that the Vice President knew the name of his brother."

"Choi Sang Eun. Of course it is." I said. 

"Hold on, why my daughter?" President Reagan asked.

"His brother mentioned that the Vice President once interrogated him. As a spy working for the FBI." I folded my fingers on the table, grimacing upon his demand in order to gain the information we need.