It is Kokang and Changchun

　Since the South Korean bosses were frustrated by the North Korean government, and their long-term anti-North Korean education has left the South Korean proletariat with little explicit support, in the game's terms, the positive and negative reviews cancel each other out.

　The unification of the Korean Peninsula and the successive victories of the Japanese revolution made Kim Jong-un feel that the surrounding geopolitical environment facing North Korea was unprecedentedly good.

　He planned that once all aspects of South Korean society were rectified, he would focus the entire party's work on economic development, and expanding reform and opening up could be put on the agenda.

　Reform and opening up may seem incredible to everyone when applied to North Korea; however, North Korea has been opening up to the outside world for a long time, but the scale has always been very small, and there has been little sign of expansion for a long time.

　North Korea's reluctance to expand its opening up may have its own considerations, but a more important factor is the diplomatic environment it faces. The degree of adverse diplomatic and geopolitical conditions faced by North Korea is unprecedented in the world.

　If North Korea had not clung to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, had China provided a backup in the post-Cold War era, and had Russia extended an olive branch later, it would be hard to say whether it could have survived until today.

　Now, times have changed, and the external environment North Korea faced is gone forever. China's rise, the Soviet Union's reorganization, Japan's revolution and internal unification, and the United States' preoccupation with defending its homeland have undoubtedly provided North Korea with external opportunities for another surge.

　However, North Korea is unable and unwilling to open up to the outside world with Western countries. This is primarily due to the long-standing bad attitude of Western countries and the rise of China.

　North Korean officials believe that China is on par with Western countries in terms of strength in all aspects, so they only need to learn from China, and exchanges with the West are dispensable.

　Although China itself is very aware that there is still a gap between itself and Western developed countries in science and technology and per capita economy, for a country of North Korea's size, this gap is almost non-existent in their eyes.

　Think about it: in the eyes of students who scored 40 or 50 points on the test, is there any difference between a 90-point ace and a 100-point ace? No, right? Similarly, in the eyes of ordinary first- and second-tier university students, is there any difference between Tsinghua University and Peking University? Is there any difference between Harvard and Cambridge? In any case, they are all heavenly universities that they will never reach.

　When China was poor in the past, everyone from top to bottom actually had this mentality. Back then, everyone drooled at the sight of Russian ships, and they thought they were quite good. Now, when I look at Russian ships again, I only feel a sense of historical weight, and I look down on everything else.

　Furthermore, in North Korea's eyes, its neighbors aren't limited to China; they also include the Soviet Union to the north, socialist Japan in the near future to the east, and the technological and economic foundations of the newly liberated areas of the former South. Under such favorable conditions, even a pig can take off.

　"Damn it, I'm surrounded by my socialist brothers! This time I won't go back to... uh... beyond the peak of the Cold War. I'll write the name of the Workers' Party in Hangul backwards!" - by North Korea

　Chapter 423: Ryugyong Hotel, construction continues!

　As mentioned in the previous chapter, after the unification of the Korean Peninsula, Kim Jong-un decided to focus the work of the entire party on

　Focus on economic development.

　The day after the Unification Day parade, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held an economic work meeting to discuss the future direction of economic work. As they began discussing specific matters, the plan to continue the construction of the Ryugyong Hotel was put on the agenda.

　Kim Deok-hoon (Prime Minister of North Korea) pointed out the sufficient reasons for continuing the construction of the Ryugyong Hotel at the meeting: "Recently, too much money has been seized from the southern chaebols. I have never seen anyone with so much money in my life.

　Take Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong, for example. We seized over $2000 billion worth of assets from his home! This is hundreds of times more than our fiscal revenue last year! (North Korea's fiscal revenue in 2023 was only about 20 million RMB.)

　And according to our investigation, these are only a small part of his property that is difficult to take away, and most of the rest has been transferred to the United States or Switzerland."

　Kim Deok-hoon's words shocked all the leaders present, except Kim Jong-un, who was not as surprised, after all, he had studied abroad.

　Although Lee Jae-yong's assets totaled more than 120 billion US dollars, the Politburo members present did not feel sad about not being able to seize the remaining 100 billion.

　As I said, people who are used to being poor will be so happy that they can't sleep when they suddenly see too much money, even if they can only get a small fraction of it.

　At this point, the Politburo members, including Kim Jong-un, were all convinced that if Lee Jae-yong's personal assets alone were seized, wouldn't the total be tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of dollars, if all the remaining chaebols and tycoons were also seized?

　Besides Jin Dexun, other comrades in charge of or related to the economy were so excited that their eyes shone with gold and tears streamed down their faces. They exclaimed in amazement: "We have never fought such a battle for prosperity in our entire lives!"

　Kim Jong-un said with a tut of his mouth: "See, this is the people's hard-earned money! Today we are enforcing justice on behalf of the heavens! On behalf of the people, we are confiscating this ill-gotten gains. Sooner or later, they will return to the hands of all the people in various ways!"

　Then he said to Kim Deok-hoon: "The money of these chaebols should be used first to provide compensation for the fallen soldiers and restore the livelihood of the people in the south, and secondly to develop the economy in the north. But no matter what, money should be set aside to build the Ryugyong Hotel."

　"You mean, the Ryugyong Hotel has officially been decided to continue construction and complete?" Kim Deok-hoon's eyes lit up. If the largest unfinished project in North Korean history could be completed, it would be a face-saving measure for North Korea.

　The Ryugyong Hotel should have been a glory that demonstrated North Korea's national strength, but since the end of the Cold War, it has become an eternal pain in the hearts of North Korean officials, so that discussing the history of the Ryugyong Hotel has become a politically sensitive topic in North Korea.

　"That's right, and the money for building the Ryugyong Hotel must be copied from the pocket of the boss of Ssangyong Group. If the copied money is not enough, we will discuss it another way." Kim Jong-un specifically emphasized this point.

　The average person might wonder: Isn't all money the same? Regardless of which chaebol it comes from, why did they insist on using Ssangyong Group's money to build the Ryugyong Hotel?

　To answer this question, we have to look back at history and see the original intention of building the Ryugyong Hotel.

　In 1986, North Korea was still at the peak of its power, and it was in a state of fierce competition with South Korea. For example, if South Korea achieved something, North Korea had to keep up with it and even surpass it, just like the various competitions during the US-Soviet Cold War.

　At that time, South Korea's Ssangyong Group won a project in Singapore through bidding and built the world's tallest hotel at the time - the Westin Stamford Hotel (226 meters), which attracted worldwide attention.

　Kim Il-sung was naturally unwilling to see such a scene, so he decided to build a taller and larger hotel in Pyongyang to demonstrate the country's strength and increase its international prestige. This is the origin of the Ryugyong Hotel.

　Although Pyongyang received less than 1,000 foreign tourists annually at that time and had no intention of opening up the domestic tourism market, the hotel could not attract real foreign tourists. It was just a face-saving project for North Korea to prove that it was stronger than South Korea.

　The scale of this hotel was originally too large for a country like North Korea. In addition, due to the unfavorable initial fundraising and the impact of the difficult march after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the construction of the Ryugyong Hotel, whose main frame was basically completed in 1992, had to be stopped.

　It wasn't until 2008 that North Korea considered resuming construction. They approached an Egyptian construction and telecommunications giant, saying they could open up their domestic communications market to them, but only if they helped North Korea complete the Ryugyong Hotel.

　It was later added that after the Ryugyong Hotel was completed, the Egyptian company could open some of its own shops there, and even operate a casino, which made the company finally decide to take over the continued construction of the Ryugyong Hotel.

　When construction was underway, a conflict arose between North Korean officials and the company. The company had made a lot of money from its telecommunications business in North Korea, and when they wanted to transfer the money out, North Korea was unhappy.

　North Korea has a regulation that restricts the outflow of foreign currency. Foreign companies cannot spend money earned in North Korea outside of the country. In other words, "North Korea earns money, North Korea spends it, and once you leave, you can't take it home."

　This abstract regulation made the senior management of the Egyptian company feel extremely suffocated. After many fruitless negotiations between the two sides, the company had no choice but to cut its losses in time, abandon the Ryugyong Hotel project, and withdraw its investment from North Korea.

　Until the Egyptian companies withdrew their investment, the Ryugyong Hotel at least looked presentable from the outside.

　There are more buildings now, and the glass curtain wall has been installed, but the inside still looks like an unfinished house, all gray and gloomy.

　In 2018, LED screens were installed on all the glass curtain walls of the Ryugyong Hotel, and the building was completely transformed from a hotel into the world's largest publicity backdrop.

　The tortuous journey of the Ryugyong Hotel's construction represents not just the rise and fall of a building, but also the ups and downs of a nation over the past 30 years. Rather than being a source of pride for North Korea, the Ryugyong Hotel is more like a fishbone stuck in its throat, causing the country immense embarrassment and pain.

　Especially when the Westin Stamford Hotel was crowded with people, which formed a sharp contrast with the deserted Ryugyong Hotel, it hurt North Korea even more.

　Now that North Korea has unified the peninsula, it's inevitable that it will seek revenge against the Ssangyong Group, which built the Westin Stamford Hotel. It's no surprise that North Korea, driven by humiliation, insisted that the Ryugyong Hotel be built with Ssangyong Group's assets.

　From the words of the first secretary, Jin Dexun smelled the intention to further open up the tourism industry. Otherwise, why would he continue to renovate the interior of the hotel? Was it to be a spectacle?

　Before Kim Deok-hun could speak, Kim Jong-un continued, "After the renovation of this hotel is completed, it will become a symbol of the further opening of the tourism industry in the North. I hope that the Ryugyong Hotel can not only promote national prestige, but also bring us as much foreign exchange as possible."

　As expected, they were in perfect sync. Kim Deok-hoon was indeed Kim Jong-un's favorite prime minister. Just as Deok-hoon was thinking about this, the general said it right after him.

　"Well, I'll keep an eye on the search for Ssangyong Group," Jin Dexun said. "But I still don't know which construction company to find to complete the project. It's probably impossible to hire the same one from Egypt last time."

　Kim Jong-un raised his eyebrows and said, "Why not? Don't they just want the $6 million they have with us? Gold coins are constantly popping up in the South, and we're not short of money anymore."

　Perhaps we could consider relaxing foreign exchange controls so they can take the money they earn in North Korea out, but the prerequisite is that the interior decoration of the Ryugyong Hotel is completed."

　Jin Dexun raised a slight objection. "According to their reasoning, they're losing money because they have to consider factors like interest and inflation. This money has been with us for over a decade. If you factor that in, we'll have to pay them hundreds of millions of dollars more."

　The Prime Minister's point made Kim Jong-un fall into a brief contemplation; it is true that the South is currently conducting a large-scale raid on the chaebols and gold coins are constantly being exploded, but North Korea has been accustomed to living in poverty for a long time, and the frugal mentality it has developed makes it very reluctant to spend this money.

　This is just like some of our parents' generation. Their living conditions have improved greatly, but their concept of money consumption is still the same as before. They are reluctant to buy anything and only throw away things after using them until they can no longer be used.

　"It's impossible to invite European and American construction companies now. Liberating the South Puppet Government will only make their blockade against us even more severe. It seems that we can only invite China or the Soviet Union." Kim Jong-un finally decided.

　Some of the South's large construction companies (except Ssangyong Group) can also complete this task, but the Ryugyong Hotel itself has considerable political considerations; if the former South's private construction companies want to build the Ryugyong Hotel, it would be a hellish joke, even if these companies have been nationalized by North Korea.

　Jin Dexun agreed, "This is the most appropriate option right now, and we have no other choice. However, considering their help to us during this period, I suggest that we invite China and the Soviet Union to carry out this project simultaneously, which can be regarded as a way to repay our class friends."

　"Yes, it is more appropriate to ask our socialist brothers to continue the construction of the Ryugyong Hotel than to ask enterprises from capitalist countries from any angle. Then you can ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to talk to Comrade Li Longnan and Shin Hongzhe and ask them to make sure to reach an agreement on this matter." Kim Jong-un nodded and ordered.

　"Yes, Comrade First Secretary."

　After some communication, the two ambassadors took Kim Jong-un's instructions and went to discuss the matter with China and the Soviet Union.

　A few days later, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau and Soviet (United) Construction Group Far East Company (formerly Russian Far East Construction Engineering Corporation) jointly contracted the interior decoration of the Ryugyong Hotel and the construction of other supporting facilities.

　The entire negotiation process went smoothly. The fact that the three parties merely exchanged views was secondary; the main thing was that they reached a majority consensus. Otherwise, this multi-party deal would have been impossible to conclude.

　As a result, many Chinese and Soviet workers who had never seen the scenery of North Korea took advantage of this work opportunity and were fortunate enough to travel to North Korea at public expense (funny).

　Of course, North Korea wasn't completely ineffective; they sent three workers to help with the construction. While there were only three, as the saying goes, quality is more important than quantity, and these three workers were equivalent to three medium-sized cranes.

　"When the time comes to renovate the hotel, we have to cooperate with the Sino-Soviet construction team? Yes! General! I will definitely do my best to complete the hotel as soon as possible!" - Ulsan's reply after receiving the order.

　Chapter 424 France: My order has been shipped again!

　Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai, China

　Beside a dry dock, a group of beautiful girls gathered together and talked to each other. Surrounding them were a group of formally dressed men, who seemed to be performing some ceremonial activities.

　If you zoom in until you can hear the conversation, you will find that it is a few Chinese ship girls who are welcoming the newly shipped French ship girls - Foch and Algeria.

　These two just came out

　When they arrived, they were surprised to find themselves in China. If it weren't for the Chinese characters on the surrounding area and the general description of Chongqing, they would never have believed that this was the once extremely backward China.

　In fact, similar unbelievable scenes happened when Mogador and Volta first came out, but now that people have a general understanding of China, they have become die-hard pro-China factions.

　KanColle themselves are not bad. The misunderstanding of China by some foreign KanColle is more caused by information asymmetry, rather than the KanColle being anti-China at heart.

　Various real cases have been sufficient to prove that today, when the US public opinion hegemony is gradually collapsing, the ship girls have learned more and seen more, and will naturally deny all the misunderstandings about China in the past and express deep apologies.

　From Atago, Kashino, and Hibiki at the beginning, to all the former IJN members who eventually turned to anti-war and anti-imperialism, this is the most vivid proof.

　The inevitable mentality of KanColle towards improvement and progress has aroused the interest of many human sociologists and psychologists. It is also a topic that never gets boring among KanColle research teams in some countries.

　However, it seems that Foch and Algeria are still in the initial stage of misunderstanding... In a sense, it is also hard work for the host.

　After listening to Chongqing's explanation, Algeria looked Chongqing up and down. There seemed to be some appreciation in her proud eyes, and then she said:

　"Ms. Chongqing, your French proficiency is truly impressive. If I didn't know you, I would have thought your homeland was France, not England."

　"Shit!" Chongqing's heart instantly turned red, but her good expression management allowed her to keep smiling.

　"If I wasn't the only one among all the Chinese ship girls who could speak French, would I have to endure the anger of you two Frogs? Can I learn the attitude of your senior Jeanne d'Arc?" Chongqing thought angrily.

　If the occasion and the Sino-French relationship behind the two were not taken into consideration, Chongqing would have already responded with a set of British-style ambiguity.

　In fact, Chongqing has no ethnic prejudice against the French in general, especially against French communists. Unless someone on the other side gets ahead of you, then don't blame Chongqing for being sweet-mouthed.

　"I was mad because Zhaohe broke my blue and white porcelain cup a few days ago, and today... Well, a little impatience can ruin a big plan... Hold on... Hold on..." Chongqing forced himself to keep calm.

　Chongqing then calmly responded, displaying an oriental grace, "Thank you, Miss Algeria, for the compliment. Praise from a native speaker is the highest compliment for a non-native language learner."

　"Haha, of course~" Seeing that Chongqing was unmoved by his implicit sarcasm, Algeria gave up and took over the conversation.

　Algeria's attitude made Chongqing not pay too much attention to her. Chongqing observed Fuxi and felt that Fuxi now seemed to be a friend worth making.

　Because when Algeria was playing tricks on Chongqing just now, Fuxi did not smile and add fuel to the fire. Instead, his eyes looked away a little bit, with a hint of embarrassment, just like a child who had made a mistake and felt guilty.

　"So, Miss Chongqing, are the dry dock that I needed to rebuild Tianri, as well as the gantry crane and various construction equipment on it, also made in China?" Algeria asked.

　"Most of them are indeed like that." Chongqing's answer was rather vague. After all, unless you are in charge of this area, it is difficult to give an accurate answer.

　Algeria was incredulous. "It's a bit believable to say that a small part of the equipment is produced here, but isn't it a bit of a joke that most of the equipment is produced here?"

　"There's an old Chinese saying, 'Thirty years on the east side of the river, thirty years on the west side of the river.' Just like some things in history, the first victory and the second quick defeat are all concentrated on one object, aren't they?" Chongqing hit back with a smile.

　Yixian, standing by, also offered support, "Similarly, China has experienced decline, but will also rise again. This is the China of today. Moreover, throughout history, China's decline has only been brief; for most of its history, it has been a world power."

　"..." Algeria was speechless. She knew that this was a combined counterattack by Chongqing and Yixian, but the arguments behind these words were all true, so she really didn't know how to defend herself.

　Chongqing pursued the attack appropriately and continued, "About half a year ago, your fellow countrymen Mogador and Miss Volta also left this shipyard. China has experience in this area. If you don't believe me, you can ask them about China's shipbuilding technology when you return home.

　Moreover, we have two Dunkerque-class battlecruisers under construction. If you are not satisfied, you will not easily entrust the construction of the capital ship to others, right? "

　"Ms. Chongqing, please allow me to correct you. The Dunkirk class is a battleship," Algeria pointed out.

　Chongqing smiled and jokingly said, "France is the only country in the world that considers the Dunkerque class a battleship. Judging from its performance data, it should be a battlecruiser or a grand cruiser."

　"You..." Algeria gritted his teeth.

　"This is a fact. I'm just practicing the principle of seeking truth from facts. We should acknowledge what is happening. This is also a principled requirement of the political party I currently belong to for its members."

　Chongqing bowed slightly like a lady, and then spoke politely, then touched the party emblem worn on the chest of her cheongsam, which shone brightly in the sun.

　Ji Jiangnan Beauty

　Chongqing, which combines the temperament of British ladies and Sichuan and Chongqing girls, gives Algeria an inexplicable sense of mystery.

　Algeria felt she was no match for Chongqing in her gossip, so she had to change the subject. She glanced around the dock again and casually asked, "Okay, okay... Thank you, China, for giving us new life. So, when can I return home?"

　At this time, the French Ambassador to the Consulate General in Shanghai said: "We will first arrange for you to rest at our Consulate General, and then send a special plane to take you back to your homeland."

　"I finally have a human body, how can I not go out for a meal?" Algeria thought they should go to a restaurant and eat something first, "Or maybe go to the concession to find..."

　Before Algeria could finish, the ambassador stepped forward and covered Algeria's mouth. Although it seemed ungentlemanly, this was a matter of saving one's life, or rather, saving one's political life. Who could care less about so many things?

　The ambassador quickly explained, "Excuse me, Miss Algeria, please forgive my abruptness. There are no concessions in China now, and this word is a symbol of colonial aggression in China, which can easily hurt the national sentiment of the Chinese people."

　After he finished explaining to Algeria, he let go of Algeria's mouth, turned around and apologized deeply to the Chinese side, saying "I'm sorry" several times.

　The Chinese side was very tolerant. Since ignorance is generally considered innocent, the Chinese personnel forgave Algeria this time, but at the same time warned it not to do it again and explained the sensitivity of the word "concession".

　Only then did Algeria realize what a mistake it had made unintentionally. It expressed its deepest apologies to the Chinese personnel. Even Foch, who had done nothing wrong, was there to clean up Algeria's mistake.

　Because both sides handled the situation promptly, this incident did not develop into a diplomatic incident. Remember, the boss had just returned from a visit to France not long ago.

　If this incident affects Sino-French relations, not to mention how the president will feel, I guess Macron will want to criticize Algeria severely.

　After the incident, Algeria looked at Chongqing and Yixian in front of him and asked, "Are there only two shipgirls belonging to China at present?"