World Domination through Planet Development - Chapter 59



Only Noblemtl

Episode 59. Development of North Korea’s Underground Resources

Jungwoo was traveling a long distance in a vehicle.

The destination was North Korea, which I had visited for the first time in a long time. Although I said I was a North Korean citizen, I was actually living in South Korea. Since I had changed my nationality, I was not a South Korean citizen.

However, under the Union Law, citizens of each member country were able to obtain permanent residency in the country of residence based on a certain period of stay.

Originally, this was a provision that gave F4 visa holders the right to apply for permanent residency if they stayed long term in South Korea, but it was changed to a system where it was issued immediately, and Jeong-woo took advantage of this.

In such cases, the individual is classified as a dual resident under the tax treaty and is subject to double taxation based on the standards of both countries. However, according to the Union law, the individual is only liable to pay taxes to the country of nationality.

Thanks to this, Jungwoo was able to live in South Korea and pay taxes only to North Korea. Unfortunately, South Korea probably could not have anticipated this situation.

In fact, if you look closely, this legal provision was much more advantageous to South Korea. It was the perfect law to protect South Korean citizens who do business in North Korea, but I never imagined that the PDC would monopolize North Korea and even make them give up their citizenship.

The vehicle has now reached the gateway to unification.

Now, instead of the military, government officials took turns guarding the roads.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, a government official came out to inspect it. Although there are no troops anymore, it is still not a road that anyone can pass through.

It was a method that could only be passed with prior approval.

The civil servant spoke to the android that was driving, checked Jungwoo’s ID, and allowed the vehicle to pass.

Boooooooo.

Jungwoo’s car started again and drove for a while.

Although we left late, we were still able to arrive before sunset.

Kaesong Special City.

Kaesong City has changed a lot from before.

The entire city seemed like a construction site undergoing redevelopment, and everything from the population to the way people dressed seemed to have changed.

“Oh, is that it?”

Jungwoo let out an exclamation of admiration as he looked at the tall building erected at the end of the road.

While most of the buildings were under construction, there was one building that was already completed and proudly standing. Its appearance was so sophisticated that it would not be out of place in South Korea.

Right at the PDC Tower.

This building, which is larger than the PDC branch office in South Korea, was built entirely with Androids.

PDC acquired Chosun Youngki Construction Company and established a new construction company, Chosun Construction, in North Korea, and has been importing all heavy equipment and construction materials from it.

This building was built day and night, investing as much as possible without having to consider labor costs, using Android, and was completed in just a few months.

Of course, unlike the old North Korean apartments, it doesn’t lack living infrastructure such as water, sewage, electricity, internet, or elevators. And of course, all the steel bars were installed.

I had it completed quickly in case I needed a place to stay if I ever visited North Korea, but then I happened to have a chance to visit.

“It’s built better than I expected.”

A group of people were seen waiting at the entrance to the building as vehicles drove in, uttering exclamations of admiration.

“What the heck, those people…?”

The vehicle had no choice but to stop as a line of people in suits stood in its way.

As the car stopped in front of them, the middle-aged man standing at the very front ran over and opened the back seat door where Jeong-woo was sitting.

“It is an honor of a lifetime to meet you, dear Comrade Cheon Jeong-woo!”

A man opened the car door and bowed at a 90-degree angle to greet me. Startled, Jeong-woo went outside.

“Oh, yes. Hello… Who are you…?”

“I’m late in introducing myself. My name is Song Dong-cheol, the president of Chosun Construction.”

Chosun Construction, which oversees new development projects in North Korea. All of the construction workers are androids, but all of the positions held by the managers are North Koreans.

Although he did little actual work, he played a role in reviving the North Korean economy by receiving income from the upper class.

The money that Jeong-woo gave to them was being spread throughout Gaeseong City.

“Ah, you’re the president of the construction company.”

“Please feel free to call me Comrade Song.”

“Yeah, well….”

“I sincerely welcome you to the PDC Gaeseong headquarters. If it is alright with Comrade Chun, may I show you around?”

How could I refuse when you have prepared so much?

“Yes, let’s do that… .”

“Thank you! I’ll take you this way.”

President Song Dong-cheol began to lead Jeong-woo into the headquarters building.

No, Sarah. What’s going on?

Jungwoo asked in surprise at the guide’s sudden appearance.

[Mr. Kim Cheol-ryeong received a call that you were coming and gave you instructions in advance. I thought that sometimes it wouldn’t be bad to receive a surprise welcome like this.]

No, why are you deciding that without the consent of the parties involved… No, then I guess you can’t call it a surprise. Ugh… .

I had no choice but to follow President Song into the PDC Tower.

It feels really awkward to be introducing a building to someone else when it was something I had put a lot of effort into building myself.

Jeong-woo entered the building with an uneasy feeling.

No, what the… what is that?!

But as soon as I entered the building lobby, I witnessed a shocking sight.

“Mr. Song, what is that?”

It was a giant portrait. And it had Jungwoo’s face on it.

“Haha. Do you like it? As for that portrait, it was completed by the best painters in our republic over the course of a month.”

Uh… That wasn’t a photo, but a painting? It’s so well drawn, like a photo… .

It’s a bit odd to ask someone to take it down since they said they worked hard on it for a month.

“… … .”

As Jung-woo stood there with a puzzled expression, President Song Dong-cheol noticed and asked cautiously.

“It seems that we prepared excessively in our desire to honor Comrade Cheon. We put it down right before evening.”

Jungwoo waved his hand at President Song’s gloomy words.

“No, no. I’m just surprised because it’s my first time seeing such a great painting. It’s cool. It’s cool…”

The face of President Song Dong-cheol, who was about to cry at Jeong-woo’s answer, brightened.

“Is that so? I’m glad you said so.”

“Yes, yes, let’s go up a bit first.”

First of all, I felt like I wanted to get out of here right away.

The building was also fully equipped with internal facilities. Since Sarah controlled everything from design to construction, she prepared the furniture and equipment to be placed inside in advance.

Thanks to this, Jungwoo was able to stay in a top-class accommodation prepared just for him.

Jungwoo enters his private room.

“ha….”

Another sigh escaped Jeong-woo’s mouth.

There was also a portrait of Jungwoo hanging here. I don’t know if it was a portrait or a photograph. Fortunately, it wasn’t very big.

“Do I really need to hang it in my room?”

This is really worshipful.

Of course, I had planned to do it that way from the beginning, but I wondered if it would actually work out as I had hoped. However, it looks like I’m seeing results little by little.

It may feel like North Koreans and South Koreans are gradually becoming more open to each other, but in reality, the reality controlled by Jeong-woo is not like that.

North Korea is still open, but freedom of movement and movement of residence is restricted. Although this is against the law of the union, it is not accepted in North Korea.

If that happens, North Korean citizens may feel a sense of contradiction and alienation, but the PDC staff was chosen as a way to divert their attention.

As PDC took over North Korea’s main businesses, there were always one or two PDC employees in each region.

And the standard of living of PDC staff has actually risen significantly and become comparable to that of the South Korean people they admired.

So, the North Korean people are given hope that their lives can change if they just trust the current leader, Kim Chol-ryong, and the PDC.

And even today, looking at it with my own eyes, the process seemed to be going smoothly.

Early the next morning.

Kim Chol-ryeong visited Gaeseong. He was accompanied by several people, including the Minister of National Resources Development, the Minister of Coal Industry, and the Minister of Metal Industry.

Judging by their age, they probably weren’t soldiers. If they had been soldiers at that age, they would have already passed away.

When they arrived at the PDC Tower, staff were waiting in the first floor lobby.

“Welcome, Comrade First Secretary.”

A top management figure at PDC Tower greeted Kim Cheol-ryeong.

“Has Comrade Cheon woke up?”

“Ah… I tried contacting you right away.”

“There’s nothing to do, so just stay still. There’s a market, so eat a buffet and wait. How are you, comrades?”

“Okay, Comrade First Secretary.”

Kim Cheol-ryeong decided not to bother waking Jeong-woo up and decided to wait.

Since I had to leave early and skipped breakfast, I decided to eat here.

As Kim Cheol-ryeong said, the PDC Tower restaurant is operated as a buffet. All food ingredients are supplied and provided from South Korea.

One thing that is unique is the interior of the restaurant. The restaurant, which has an atmosphere comparable to that of a five-star hotel restaurant in Korea, is located on the first floor and has an exterior wall made of glass.

Thanks to this, citizens of Gaeseong passing by outside can see the interior scenery. It became an object of envy, jealousy, jealousy, and longing.

But the important thing is that this is a place where even outsiders can eat freely as long as they pay a fee. Anyone can come in here. That was the hope that made me dream.

As Kim Cheol-ryeong and his party came out after finishing their meal, Jeong-woo also woke up right on time and started getting ready.

Jeong-woo and Kim Cheol-ryeong and their group met in front of a suitable conference room.

“Why are you here so early?”

Jeong-woo smiled and asked Kim Cheol-ryeong, who was approaching him.

“I heard that the food here is delicious, so I came here quickly. Haha.”

“Really? That’s fortunate.”

The buffet at the PDC Tower is not very sweet to suit the tastes of North Koreans. So it did not suit Jungwoo’s taste at all.

“Oh, let me introduce myself.”

“is it so.”

Kim Cheol-ryeong introduced the people who were standing behind him.

“Hello! It is an honor to meet you. I am Kim Chung-seok, Minister of National Resources Development of the Ministry of National Resources Development of the Cabinet of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea!”

“I am Jeong Hak-cheol, Minister of Coal Industry of the Ministry of Coal Industry!”

“I am Eun-cheol Ahn, Minister of Metal Industry of the Ministry of Metal Industry!”

“Oh yes, nice to meet you all.”

Jungwoo shook hands with them one by one.

“Okay, then shall we all go in and talk?”

We entered the conference room under Jungwoo’s leadership.

Those sitting side by side in the conference room soon began to share a few stories.

“Okay. Then, first of all, we will merge the organizations that these three people belong to into a single company, and then PDC will acquire it.

The gist of our conversation, which lasted a short time, is this.

The idea is for PDC to take over key businesses (North Korean government agencies) involved in underground resource development from the North Korean government and completely transfer them to private companies.

“I would like to proceed with the project by selecting a Korean resource development company. What do you think?”

“Of course I should do that.”

Kim Cheol-ryeong answered on behalf of others.

It wasn’t just about dividing the pie. The goal was fundamentally to facilitate smooth entry into the trade market.

The value of North Korea’s underground resources is close to 800 trillion won in terms of net reserves and exceeds 200 trillion won in terms of economic feasibility.

This is a lot more than what has been previously announced, but since it’s Sarah’s information, it’s likely much more accurate.

This value is ultimately the value when underground resources are sold at a fair price.

Since this is a cash-based business, except for the labor costs of the Android miners involved, you need to be concerned about profits.

Anyway, since it is not an exclusive market like Android sales, there is bound to be competition in the market, but trading is a more closed activity than you might think.

What this means is, let’s say something of the same value comes into the market at a slightly cheaper price.

It seems like it would sell better than the existing one according to market principles, but that is not the case.

Basically, people tend not to deviate from what they are familiar with. There are various reasons, such as personal connections or trust in new things.

This was also the case in corporate matters, and that is why the main purpose was to borrow the names of famous companies in South Korea rather than the backward brand value of North Korea.

“Comrade Cheon, do you have any business idea in mind?”

Jeong-woo smiled at Kim Cheol-ryeong’s question.

“Ah, not yet. And even if it’s formal, we need to follow the Korean system in some way. We need to make it seem like we’re selecting companies fairly.”

“That is correct.”

Kim Cheol-ryeong stepped forward and struck the janggu.

“But maybe there is an internal company.”

Kim Cheol-ryeong and his group expressed doubts about Jeong-woo’s words and actions.

Jungwoo looked at them and smiled meaningfully.

By now, there is probably a South Korean company that is on edge due to contract issues with Saudi Arabia.