Northeast Coast, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Captain Kim told his men to stop. They had been walking for some time through the woods. At this point he realized that they had not seen anything since the bush near the road a kilometer or two back. Kim was now questioning whether they had been following anything at all or just their imaginations. He thought back to that wet spot on the beach.
Was that spot really that strange? Maybe it was nothing.
He then thought about that bush they saw by the road. The soldier on the road team said he thought he saw something move. The bush did look disturbed.
Could it have been an animal? We still have not seen a person yet. Are these all coincidences?
And now they have not found anything else for some time. They passed by several other patrols who also said they had not seen anything. Captain Kim also realized that if another team, like the platoon guarding the special facility, had been shooting at someone, not only would he have heard the shooting, but he would have heard something on the radio. At least he hoped that his radio would say something, he thought as he looked at his antique equipment.
Kim grabbed his radio and saw that this time it seemed to be working. He radioed his beach team and asked if they had seen any bubbles coming out of the water. He waited for a response. None came. Kim repeated his question.
Maybe their radio doesn’t work either.
They stood and waited. Finally, after repeating a few more times, he heard a muffled response. The beach team reported no bubbles. Then he had a new idea. Kim radioed the team guarding the special facility and asked them if they had seen anything. Nobody was told that team was guarding a facility. Kim and his men were told the team was to stand guard on a plot of dirt. His men did not seem to question it. But Kim quietly knew what was really there.
It’s silly of our leaders to keep that place so secret.
The dirt plot team reported back that they had not seen anything. Kim now tried to figure out what to do.
Is there really a spy here? Would he really know about that facility? How could they have possibly found out if nobody here knows about it? What will happen to us if there is a spy and he got into that facility?
Kim felt a familiar feeling crawl through his body. As a child in the Democratic People’s Republic, he learned quickly that what he said could get him in trouble. He learned quickly that he was always being watched. His father always told him that some of their closest friends could be informants for the secret police, so it was better not to talk outside at all. He eventually found out why. In class he remembered hearing another student say that his family did not plan to go to the Square to pay their respects for the victory in the Fatherland Liberation War. That boy said the reason was that his father said he had better things to do. That boy was not in school the next day and Kim had never seen him since. One or two of his friends also disappeared in the middle of the night. He soon learned that if he were not careful about what he said, he might disappear one night as well. Soon it led to a process he could not control. Each night his mind became so active he could not sleep. He sat up wondering if he had said anything wrong. He became afraid to go to bed at night. His mind analyzed and re-analyzed everything he had said that day, which by that time had shrunk to only a few words. Eventually his father noticed his plight and tried to console him. He said that even if some things in the Democratic People’s Republic seemed uncomfortable or scary, the higher ups were saying this was the best possible way to manage our society for the people. So he told Kim to take some comfort in that and realize life must be just as hard elsewhere. He said to find a way to show the higher ups you are the most loyal servant they have. Eventually Kim got rid of that feeling. But sometimes he thought that he might have just become used to its constant presence. He thought maybe he found a way to live through each day despite it.
That feeling briefly returned with full strength about a year ago, however. Ever since Kim could remember, his father had been a KPA general. It was always something that had made him proud growing up. His father was still rather young, so Kim expected his father to remain a general. But one year ago, his father had suddenly retired from the KPA. The last time Kim was home, six months ago, he had seen his father in a new state. He seemed jumpy. He asked Captain Kim if he had not been careful when speaking outside. Captain Kim thought about it but was sure he had. He rarely spoke to anyone other than on military counter-intelligence business. It was his mind that he had allowed to run unfettered, not his mouth. That was the last Captain saw of his father. Last week, he received notice that his father had passed away. The letter he received from the higher ups said something more like that his father “died gloriously in service to the Democratic People’s Republic.” Captain Kim was now on his own, and had to make his own way.
As he stood with his men in the dark forest, Kim switched to thinking about where to go next. He had no more clues and the entire area seemed to be quiet. Ahead of them, the road nearby led to the interior of their country. It first ran to a few villages and then on to larger towns. If this spy, assuming he were here, wanted to get further inside the Democratic People’s Republic he would have kept going straight, Kim thought. If he had somehow known about this base, he would have turned here to go through the ridge. Kim thought some more. If they did not catch him, they would be punished either way if it were found out later. Kim made his decision.
He turned to his men, “We are going to turn now and head through this ridge. Let’s go.”
They turned and started walking in line formation through the dark ridge. As they walked they saw two hills or small mountains on their right and left side. Suddenly his soldier on the far right pointed at something.
“Tongmu Captain, I see something.”
“What is it?”
The soldier squinted and tried to make it out. The whole team was looking now. Then one of the other men recognized it,
“It looks like another patrol.”
“Signal them with your flashlight.” The soldier who spotted them signaled the patrol. They were about 500 feet away but saw the signal and started coming towards Captain Kim’s team. When the team approached their officer, a lieutenant saluted Kim.
“Tongmu Captain, we are continuing our patrol of this area. Do you have any instructions for us?” He said.
“I have a question. Have you seen or heard anything in this area?” Kim asked.
“No, tongmu. We have been patrolling diligently but my men and I have not seen anything.”
“I’m going through this area with my team. I want to go to the other side and take a look. You have a radio?”
“Yes, tongmu.”
“I’ll radio you if I find anything or need your team. Keep patrolling your area in the meantime.”
“Yes, tongmu Captain. I also have another patrol team moving through the ridge. It’s another five of my men. You might be able to spot them if you keep walking through,” the Lieutenant said as he saluted.
“Great. I’ll try to link up with them too.” Kim turned to his men and said, “let’s keep going.”
As they headed towards the end of the ridge, Kim became more curious about the underground base. He wondered if his father’s story from that day long ago was true. He wished he could look inside. Why is it that the Americans would risk so much to see this place, he wondered?
Why are our leaders making me risk my life for this?