Chapter 82

The various countries that were closely monitoring the North Korean leader's visit to Jeju Island were all curious about what Xiao Jin and Ji Feng were discussing, especially since Xiao Jin stayed on Jeju Island for three days, with Ji Feng accompanying him throughout. During the day, they left their footprints at several famous scenic spots, and at night, their representatives held negotiations under the lamplight, discussing in detail the various matters related to entering North Korea.

On the 13th, Xiao Jin and Ji Feng even took separate special flights to Pyongsan, accompanied by senior executives from multiple groups, including Jeju Energy, Jeju Bank, Jeju Airlines, Jeju Navigation, Jeju Communications, and Jeju Hotel and Catering. Jeju Airlines even had to temporarily allocate a passenger aircraft to transport these personnel.

After the three aircraft, including Ji Feng Bay's G650 private jet, took off one after another, countless eyes turned to North Korea, speculating on what major actions the two sides would take next. Despite the curiosity, the Jeju government did not reveal any information, only saying that everything was still under negotiation and that they would announce the results as soon as they were available.

When Ji Feng and his group arrived in Pyongsan, they were warmly welcomed by many high-ranking officials from North Korea. Xiao Jin even showed off by having Xu Xian inspect his army, which left Ji Feng speechless. "I'm not a head of state, so why are you making such a big deal out of this? Someone might end up criticizing you."

Xiao Jin's wife greeted them at the airport. After all, Ji Feng had brought Xu Xian along, and for South Koreans who had never set foot in North Korean territory, they were all filled with curiosity. From the moment Xu Xian boarded the special flight to North Korea, he attracted the attention of countless South Korean citizens. They all wanted to see what North Korea was like through the newly launched Jeju TV, especially after learning that Ji Feng and Xu Xian would be touring North Korea with Xiao Jin, their interest grew even more.

The world was speculating about when these two young men had suddenly become so close. Considering that Jeju Island had never sent envoys to any country and had declared that it would never establish a country, existing only as an independent region and never interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, everyone believed that this was more likely to be a commercial collaboration. After all, the senior executives from various groups under Ji Feng's umbrella accompanied him, and the Jeju government did not send any representatives, which indicated this point.

Could it be that Xiao Jin was really planning to implement reforms and opening-up in North Korea? And by bringing in the world's richest man, was he only aiming to boost North Korea's economy with the world's richest man's capital, or did he have other intentions?

Especially South Korea, although Jeju Island's military could hardly be called a military, they were all worried about the possibility of being caught between North Korea and Jeju Island in the future.

Regardless of the outside speculation, Ji Feng and Xu Xian toured North Korea with Xiao Jin and his wife. It must be said that Ji Feng lost interest after just one day. It was really too poor, even worse than the rural areas where he grew up. The people's clothing was simple, and their lives were hard, even worse than the rural people of his childhood. However, the spirit of the people was different from any other country, perhaps due to the authoritarian rule.

After barely touring North Korea for five days, seeing that Xu Xian also seemed uninterested, Ji Feng quickly used the excuse that Xu Xian was tired and returned to Pyongsan.

In the five days, after the two set the tone for cooperation, the senior executives from the various groups that followed had already inspected Pyongsan or the North Korean coast. After several days of in-depth discussions and negotiations, both sides held a press conference in Pyongsan and signed a series of cooperation agreements.

Under the witness of media reporters from various countries, Ji Feng and Xiao Jin signed the main agreement first, followed by the heads of the various groups signing cooperation agreements with North Korean counterparts. With the signing of dozens of cooperation agreements, it was officially announced that Jeju businesses would enter all of North Korea.

At the subsequent press conference, representatives from North Korea and Jeju Island happily announced that the two sides had formed an economic strategic partnership. When the series of agreements signed earlier were announced, the press conference venue erupted in several gasps of surprise.

Lin Hui, as Ji Feng's full representative, announced a series of cooperation plans to the media.

First, the Jeju Energy Group will jointly build a large-scale petrochemical city in Haeju, with an estimated investment of $15 billion. This project includes a petroleum refinery with an annual processing capacity of over 100 million tons, multiple upstream and downstream industries, and a power plant to support the project. All equipment for the project will be publicly tendered worldwide, and a tender conference will be held on Jeju Island in the second half of the year after the land is allocated and leveled by the North Korean side. All companies producing this equipment are welcome to attend.

Second, the Jeju Bank will cooperate with the North Korean Bank to establish the Jeju (North Korea) Bank. The new joint venture bank will conduct banking business throughout North Korea, including operations in North Korean won and foreign currency exchange. The new bank will offer all banking services, including deposits, withdrawals, and loans, to enterprises, institutions, and individuals in North Korea, and will issue credit cards to North Korean citizens with certain economic capabilities to help improve their lives. North Korean enterprises are also encouraged to choose the new Jeju (North Korea) Bank.

Third, the Energy Group will cooperate with the North Korean National Oil Company to establish a new energy company to explore and develop oil in the northeastern part of North Korea, including the Gaema Plateau and Baegma Plateau. The new energy company will have the right to operate all oil businesses in North Korea and plans to open over 300 gas stations in cities with the necessary conditions, accepting direct fueling with Jeju (North Korea) Bank cards.

Fourth, the Jeju Airlines Group will invest in Pyongsan International Airport, build a large international airport in Kaesong, and use it as one of its base airports. While expanding Pyongsan Airport, it will actively communicate with other countries to open more routes from Pyongsan and Kaesong to China, the United States, Jeju Island, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Europe. Jeju Airlines is willing to engage in healthy competition with other airlines.

Fifth, the Jeju Navigation Group will take a controlling stake in the Haeju Port, internationalize it, and add new shipping routes to China, Jeju Island, and other countries and regions. In the future, it will contribute to North Korea's economic development by relying on the booming Haeju economy.

After announcing these five major agreements, the North Korean spokesperson continued, shocking the many journalists present:

After in-depth communication between the North Korean leader, the Chairman of the Workers' Party, and Ji Feng, it was decided to follow Ji Feng's suggestion and designate Kaesong as a fully open special economic zone to experiment with North Korea's reform and opening-up policy. This zone will welcome enterprises from countries that meet the conditions and guarantee that the city will not be closed in the future as long as South Korea does not use military force against North Korea or engage in espionage in the region, ensuring the interests of all investors.

It was also announced that after the Jeju West Island power station is operational, the Jeju Energy Group will be invited to build a large power station in the Kaesong area to ensure the region's power supply.

The future Kaesong will be an open, civilized, and inclusive window for North Korea. The new joint venture airline will build a modern airport there to facilitate the travel of business people from various countries to Kaesong.

Subsequently, a series of other cooperation plans were announced, including the establishment of joint medical institutions in North Korea by the Jeju medical system to improve North Korea's medical standards; Jeju University will accept hundreds of North Korean students each year; the hotel and catering group will build three five-star hotels in Pyongsan, Haeju, and Kaesong; the Jeju commercial group will build two large comprehensive shopping malls in Pyongsan and Kaesong; Jeju Communications will form a new communications company with North Korea and roll out mobile communications services nationwide, initially focusing on Kaesong, Haeju, and Pyongsan; and Jeju will acquire a shipyard in North Korea, upgrade it with technology, and produce more civilian vessels for North Korea.

The announcement of these cooperation agreements was like a series of thunderclaps, leaving the journalists present in a daze. Everyone was wondering if they had heard correctly. When did North Korea's reforms become so thorough? This was essentially a complete opening of North Korea to Jeju Island, even in key industries.

Especially the full opening of Kaesong, which was based on Ji Feng's suggestion. When did Ji Feng, the island's master, gain the ability to influence North Korea's high-level decision-making? Does this mean that North Korea's reform and opening-up have officially begun, and is it only open to Jeju Island or to all countries in the world?

As these questions were raised during the subsequent Q&A session, the North Korean spokesperson smiled and said, "North Korea's reform and opening-up are still in the exploratory stage. Currently, other regions are only cooperating with Jeju Island, but we do not rule out welcoming more countries in the future when conditions are ripe. We look forward to that day."

"The head of state believes that our current task is to develop the economy and improve the people's lives, healthcare, education, and technology levels. Other disputes can be temporarily set aside and resolved through negotiations when conditions are ripe. We also promise to reduce the size of our military and encourage more people to participate in economic development..."

The spokesperson's response left the journalists present looking at the Jeju Island representatives with a mix of puzzlement and bewilderment. What could have caused these two, who were previously at war, to sit down and talk about brotherhood and cooperation, and even fully open North Korea to Jeju Island? What did the two young men say in private that gave Ji Feng the ability to persuade the conservative dictator Xiao Jin to open the door so wide and even follow his advice to fully open Kaesong?

Regardless of the confusion, the cooperation between the two sides had already begun. Later that day, Ji Feng and Xu Xian returned to Jeju Island by special flight, leaving the senior executives from the various groups to handle the follow-up matters.

The news of Jeju Island's full-scale entry into North Korea dominated the international news headlines that evening. Regardless of the outcome of North Korea's reforms, just the statement about reducing the military and focusing on economic development brought a huge sigh of relief from the governments of various countries, especially from South Korea and the United States, who might even want to give Ji Feng a medal.

What countless people had failed to achieve, Ji Feng managed to accomplish simply by focusing on economic cooperation. Even the Chinese leadership had to admit that Ji Feng's purely commercial cooperation, without any political motives, had played a decisive role. If anyone else had gone, they would not have been as effective as Ji Feng.

PS: Requesting recommendations and collections...

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