21st Century Goguryeo

January 23rd, 2024, 09:35

The underground bunker of the Central Government Office (National Security Conference Room), Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, Japan

"What do you mean they are not responding?" Prime Minister Uchida jumped out of his chair as soon as he heard the absurd report.

"It seems like the Koreans have cut off all the hotlines."

"Cut off the hotlines? What about the emergency line?"

"Yeah, the same goes for all the emergency hotlines in the comms department."

"What about the phone number of their office? They must have a few work phones."

"I've already tried that, but no one is picking up."

"Oh my, are they really about to cut off all ties with Japan?"

Uchida's face, as he sat powerlessly in his chair, was full of embarrassment. After a while, Uchida, stroking his hair, visited the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had run out of the conference room in the hopes of finding a solution.

"Yeah, that's right! Mr. Miura! Call Mr. Kurosawa immediately."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! That fella must know the South Korean Foreign Minister's cell phone number! Ask him right this moment."

"Sir, I already contacted Mr. Kurosawa before the briefing, but he said the Korean's cell phone was turned off."

"If his phone has been turned off, you should be calling his home. No! We do not have time! Mr. Miura! Contact the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately!"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Isn't there a representative number on their website? Call them right now and ask them to relay the call to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea! Tell them that the Japanese Prime Minister is seeking him urgently."

"Prime Minister! It is quite shameful for me to call a number on their website."

As Miura blurted out with an embarrassed expression on his face, Uchida, who had always had a gentle expression, turned and shouted, "Now is not the time to pick and choose! What are you waiting for?"

"Okay, I see."

Startled by the sudden shouting, Deputy Minister Kenta Miura searched for the representative phone number of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs on his smartphone and immediately pressed the call button.

After a few beeps, a gentle female voice welcomed him.

"This is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

In his poor excuse for Korean, Miura began speaking, "Ah, this is the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I would like to converse with Minister Kang Kyung-hee on an urgent matter."

"Did you say the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

"Yes, I did. It's an urgent matter, so I hope you can relay the call right away."

"I'm sorry. This is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' domestic representative number. For diplomatic matters, we would appreciate it if you could contact the relevant department directly through the hotlines."

"All the hotlines are cut off! The Japanese Prime Minister wants to speak to Minister Kang Kyung-hee on a very urgent matter right now, so please contact him for me."

"I apologize. There is no line in our department available to connect you to the Minister. For diplomatic matters, please make a request through the hotlines."

"There is no time! It is an international diplomatic issue, so please patch us through immediately."

"Please don't make prank calls to us."

"Are you kidding me? This is the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We don't have time, so please connect us."

"I am warning you again. This is a public institution. You can't make prank calls to us. I'll hang up now."

"Hello! Hello!" Miura, who blurted out in Japanese, looked at Uchida with a puzzled expression.

"What happened?"

"They thought it was a prank call and hung up."

"Call them again!"

"Sir, we cannot get to the Korean minister with this representative number."

They would have reacted the same. What diplomat ever communicated through official representative numbers?

"The fate of Japan is at stake! Try again! No! Give me the phone! I will call them myself!"

Uchida snatched Miura's smartphone and pressed the call button.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"I am the Japanese Prime Minister, Uchida. Currently, the hotline with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea has been cut off, so I have inevitably called you. I would like to speak with Minister Kang Kyung-hee on an urgent matter. Please patch me through."

Uchida spoke Japanese. There was no response for a while, as he waited, panicking.

"Can you hear me? I am Japanese Prime Minister Uchida. I would like to speak with Minister Kang Kyung-hee. Please connect me."

When he spoke in Japanese again, someone else, a man, responded. He must have been handed the call by the female employee who clearly didn't understand Japanese.

"Why do you keep calling us? You will be fined for prank-calling a government institution."

"This is not a prank call. I really am the Japanese Prime Minister, Uchida."

"You don't even sound like a kid. Last warning. If you call us again, I will call the police."

"This is not a prank call. I really am the Prime Minister of Japan. Hello! Hello!"

Even under the pressing circumstances, the humiliation struck a chord. It was the moment when the Prime Minister, who could be said to be the number one in Japanese politics, was reduced to a prank caller.

The male voice over the handset just knew that the call was not a prank, but an actual call from the Japanese government. An official letter was sent to the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this morning.

As of nine a.m., the Republic of Korea officially cut off diplomatic ties with Japan, thereby suspending all communication channels with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Japanese Embassy in Korea.

Uchida's hand holding the smartphone trembled. He was not sure if it was because of the humiliation he had just experienced or of his hopelessness about the reality Japan faced. The entire country was going down the road, but he couldn't see the two Kanji characters meaning 'hope' anywhere.

* * *

January 23rd, 2024, 09:40 (local time: 10:40)

450 kilometers off the eastern shore of Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, Japan (Pacific Fleet)

Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103), who charged through 250 kilometers of rough waves at an unimaginable speed, immediately deployed all of its available means of attack.

First, its rifle fired a bullet every two seconds. Then it unleashed plasma cohesive bombs comparable to anti-ship missiles. On the vertical launch pads were mounted the hypersonic anti-ship missiles, which subsequently soared into the sky.

The anti-ship missiles, which boasted a range of 450 kilometers and a flight speed of Mach ten, were able to reach the Pacific Fleet, which was roughly 245 kilometers away, in exactly 74 seconds.

Their targets were destroyers belonging to the First Carrier Squadron, escorting the Calvins (CVN-80).

They were flying at hypersonic speed toward the remaining Zumwalt-class destroyers, John S. McCain (DDG-1010), the only surviving Zumwalt-class destroyer in the First Carrier Squadron (DDG-1010), and the remaining four Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

In addition, the Calvins (CVN-80), which could be said to be their main target, were targeted by the plasma-cluster rounds of 30 K-2 rifles and two SSM-1000Ks.

All but a few multi-purpose helicopters have been moved to the flight deck of the Calvins (CVN-80). When the Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103) approached them at an incredible speed, like a racing car, Admiral Rubin Scott urgently ordered the crew to move all the aircraft that had been stowed on her flight deck.

Among the transferred aircraft, the F-35C Lightning II fighter jets were armed with outdated anti-ship missiles and flew to a certain altitude to attempt to sink the Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103) again.

And on the sea, the Russell (DDG-1013) and Ramage (DDG-1015) Zumwalt-class destroyers also fired 256MJ-class rail guns mercilessly toward the Sohn Byung-hee (CG-1103).

For attack and defense, 20 destroyers belonging to the Pacific Fleet fired SM-7C surface-to-air missiles with high interception capabilities to defend against the incoming attacks.

The anti-aircraft missiles, with their white smoke trails crisscrossing at the same time, which was soon followed by a huge explosion, produced an impressive spectacle that made one feel as if one was watching a blockbuster war movie.

Three years ago, in a naval battle with the Republic of Korea Navy, the SM-7 and the improved SM-7B surface-to-air missiles did not show any significant interception capability and showed a very low interception rate. Since then, they have been successful in developing more advanced and improved SM-7S surface-to-air missiles. The range stayed the same, but the speed, angle-turning ability, and impact of the explosion were all improved to make it a more viable weapon.

Due to the continuous improvement work, the price of the SM-7S doubled to $29 million from the price of the SM-7, which was the basic model at $15 million. When converted to Korean won, it came to a whopping amount of 29 billion won.

The now-costly SM-7S surface-to-air missiles, which boasted an astronomical amount of momentum and speed worthy of their new price tag, flew toward and over the horizon.

After a short period, the interception data of the SM-7 surface-to-air missile, which was intercepted, was transmitted in real-time from each destroyer to the Gerald R. Ford's (CVN-78) battle command room.

On its first attempt, it succeeded in intercepting six out of a total of 11 SSM-1000K enemy missiles. Compared to their performance three years ago, it was remarkable. Cheers erupted from the rows of operators, but they soon died down.

Admiral Rubin Scott was caught up in some kind of funky mood.

Although he did not express it, he clenched his right fist as if rallying some morale from within.

For three years, they had spent an astronomical amount on research, and valuable results had just been obtained. But that wasn't always a relief. Due to the relentless flight speed, there was not enough time for the second intercept, and more than 30 rounds of plasma-cluster bombs, which reached an altitude of 100 kilometers at a speed of Mach 10, were homing in on the Calvins (CVN-80).

From now on, they had to pin all their hopes on the 8MJ-class rail gun, which was one of the components of the vessel's close-range defense systems. Now Admiral Rubin Scott and the commanders of the Pacific Fleet could only pray and wait.

The last bastion of the close-range defense system weaponry was capable of unleashing metal bullets the size of a child's fist in one second with a powerful momentum of eight megajoules, twice that of the M-3 Wardog tank equipped with the first 4MJ-class rail gun. Four Zumwalt-class destroyers and 11 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers of Flight IIB-class or higher, each equipped with an eight-megajoule rail gun, mounted their guns and identified their targets through a datalink.

Metal bullets poured out from the barrels of a total of 20 eight-megajoule railguns. Metal bullets stretched out like a beam of laser light in the air. The sight embroidered the sky above the northwest end of the battlefield.

Like metal scraps attracted by a strong magnet, numerous metal bullets gathered toward the incoming SSM-1000K enemy missile.

Three explosions sounded in succession. A huge column of water soared 20 meters high. However, the two SSM-1000K missiles inevitably escaped the web of bullets and headed toward their targeted destroyer.

The Pacific Fleet operated the close-range defense measures in hopes of mitigating some of the damage, and a huge number of shells instantly covered the sky.

The SSM-1000K missile buried itself into the hull of the Arleigh Burke-class Michael Murphy (DDG-112) and then exploded.

The entire 155-meter long body of Michael Murphy (DDG-112) exploded and shattered. Countless fragments of shrapnel flew several kilometers around.