[Fanfic] Healing Old Wounds Ch. 5 [Commieburger]
Title: Healing Old Wounds
Author/Artist: Me
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Eventual Commieburger (America x North Korea), South Korea, China, and probably the majority of the other canon characters as well as some other OC nations.
Rating: This chapter, K. Later T to M, not sure yet.
Warnings: CommunistxCapitalist, maybe angst, possibly suggestive material later on.
Summary: America takes an interest in a certain communist regime and sets out on a mission to win him over, hoping to settle some of the more troubling things from their past along the way.
In This Chapter:
Character(s) or Pairing(s): America, Korea
Rating: This chapter, K.
Warnings: Mentions of the Yeonpyeong shelling.
Summary: America grows suspicious of Korea’s whereabouts the previous day and prepares to confront him, but it turns out Korea’s got something to tell him that could threaten world peace.
Earlier chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
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Chapter 5
The American lay awake in bed that night thinking about the many questions swimming in his head. What if Yong Soo had been in such a hurry to run off because he was meeting someone? But then…who was he meeting and why? Would the person just be a friend or would he be plotting something with them? If they were plotting something, then what? And against who? But then America had to take a moment and remind himself that the idea that Yong Soo was having secret meetings with people was a ridiculous one and that surely he'd been doing something much more…innocent. Which would, of course, remind him that he had no idea what leisurely activities South Korea could possibly have to rush off too in the middle of London, and he would continue to worry and speculate.
As for what might get through to North Korea, well, he didn't even have an idea.
At some point his mind must have calmed down enough for him to get to sleep, because the next thing he knew, he was jolting awake to the abrasive buzz of the hotel clock's alarm. His fingers groped for the off button and he gave a half-sigh, half-groan of relief when the noise was finally cut off. Blinking sleep from his bleary eyes, he sat up slowly and took in the unfamiliar surroundings of the hotel room for a moment or so before finally dragging himself from the warm embrace of the bed and going to get dressed.
That morning's meetings were long and tedious, as expected. The longest of them was with a lot of the Europeans, so of course America had to endure England's constant cynicism toward every idea he proposed. It got extremely old after a while. How was America supposed to help out Europe with their economy problem if England insisted on disagreeing with every single thing he said? After a while it got so old that the American finally just shut his mouth and listened to the rest of them argue, somewhat grateful that the Englishman's attention would now be focused on France instead of him.
When the meeting ended hours later with few agreements, he wasn't surprised, and left feeling like he could have skipped the whole meeting and wouldn't have missed a thing. What a great waste of a day! It was no wonder world politics moved so slowly. Not that the nation-spirits themselves really got much say-they just got to hand suggestions and observations to their bosses and hope it amounted to something. They could tell their bosses how so-and-so felt about some idea or suggestions other nations had given, but in the end the decisions fell on their leaders, not them, so if nation meetings had been unproductive, the information they gave back to their bosses was equally useless, and world relations went nowhere.
That was how it always had been, and how it always would be.
Since it was well past noon and America still hadn't eaten, he decided the first thing he should do was grab some food. He didn't have another meeting until the evening, so he had the next few hours to himself.
While he was trying to decide where to go for lunch, he saw a familiar face passing him out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, Yong Soo." He reached out to clap a hand firmly on the man's shoulder to keep him from walking past.
The Korean stopped and cast a wary glance at the other. "Oh, hey, Alfred," he said before his eyes drifted back to the oh-so-interesting floor. For a moment, it looked like he might not say any more, then he seemed to force himself to continue. "Look, I, um, need to talk to you."
America pulled back a little in surprise. Well, that had certainly caught him off-guard. He'd expected to be the one demanding to talk to Korea, not the other way around. Maybe whatever Korea needed to talk to him about had to do with where he'd been yesterday.
"Well, are you going to a meeting?" America asked, eyeing the other's suit and tie.
"I just got out of one."
"Perfect. I was about to go to lunch, so we can talk about it then if you haven't eaten yet."
"I haven't, so that works…"
They ended up back at The Stockpot, both of them in their suits and ties.
After the waitress had come to take their orders, America looked at Korea expectantly. The other had been silent since they'd gotten here. Clearly, if America ever wanted to know what Yong Soo needed to tell him, he'd just have to start the conversation himself. "You said you wanted to talk about something?" he prompted, watching as the other stirred the water the waitress had brought for him with his straw.
"Yeah…" Korea started, making a face like he wasn't exactly sure how to begin, his eyes focused on his water. He was quiet for a moment as he watched his straw create a mini-whirlpool in his cup. Korea had done the same thing last time they'd been here, America realized, when the subject of North Korea had come up.
"Well…?" America asked when the Korean was still silent a moment later. Korea shot him a frustrated look as if to say, 'don't rush me.'
The Korean let out a frustrated sigh. "I got a call from my boss last night," he said finally, sparing a glance at America for only a moment. "You know those military drills North kept threatening 'deadly retaliation' over if we went through with them? …Yeah, well, we are."
America's heart jolted. "You're doing them anyway?"
"Yes… And, um…" Korea continued, looking very uncomfortable indeed, "I hope you didn't have any plans for Christmas this year…because my boss said he got a call from your president, and apparently the North Koreans are asking your boss to send a delegation to talk to them before we start the drills. And since we're not sure how much influence North has with his leaders, my boss is asking if you can go too. Just in case…" He looked up for a moment to see America's reaction. "So…yeah."
America must have sat there for a moment just staring at Korea, because the other had to speak up to grab his attention once more. "Al?"
"Oh, um…"
Well, his first reaction had been a little twinge of fear. North Korea had responded negatively to South Korean drills before. They had fired back before, resulting in the deaths of four people on a border island, not so long ago. America bit his lip. He still remembered all his frantic phone calls to Yong Soo, asking if he was okay, if people had been hurt, if he thought they were going to war. It was all still fresh in his mind. There was no telling what North Korea might do if South Korea went through will drills the North had already threatened retaliation for. It seemed like a recipe for disaster. America had already spent the '50s fighting a war to make sure South Korea stayed democratic, out of the clutches of communism. But if North Korea retaliated, it could drag both Koreas-and America, due to his alliance with South-into another war. Things had been so tense between the two Koreas in the past year. There was no telling what would happen.
And his second reaction, of course, had been disappointment. The World Conference was always held in December, so the nations could get their affairs in order for the year ahead, and plan their end-of-the-year celebrations with other nations once business was done. Christmas was one of America's favorite holidays, and obviously he didn't want to miss it! He and Canada and England and France and sometimes more of their relatives usually got together for a couple of days of celebrations and general hijinks. It would break his heart to miss it, but this sounded serious…
"I wonder why my boss didn't call me…" he said quietly. It seemed like something the president would have let him know about.
"Maybe you'll get a call from him later?" Korea suggested. "Maybe he's still deciding if he wants to send someone or not. Or maybe he wanted to wait until you're back in the US to tell you."
"Maybe," America muttered, frowning. The president did have a lot of things to worry about. Letting his nation-spirit know about one of them could have easily slipped the man's mind. "Well, wait… you mean the North Koreans asked for Americans? Specifically?" he asked, wondering why South didn't just send some guys of his own.
"The North Koreans seem to like you guys better," Korea said, frowning. "Specifically, they asked for the governor of New Mexico. They like him for some reason. And I don't think they'd want a delegation from us when we're the ones they're mad at in the first place anyway."
"But North is always mad at me," America objected. "He makes a huge point of making sure I know he hates me."
Korea shrugged, seeming to lighten up a little since they'd started talking. "Hey, I can't explain the things he does. He'd rather talk to you apparently, but I couldn't tell you why. I don't get him either."
It was then that the waitress showed up with their food. They'd ordered something different than what they'd gotten last time, deciding today on Shepherd's Pie. Alfred poked at the top crusty part with his fork, trying to figure out if England had ever fed him anything like this or not. Korea, on the other hand, dug right in, making a face initially but continuing to eat without a problem after that. After a moment, America joined him, taking a cautious bite out of the crust on top.
As it turned out, the top part was potatoes with some weird spices in it (which must have been what Korea was making a face at). It wasn't bad; it just took a moment to get used to. As he got farther in, there was meat in the middle, which America guessed was mutton based on the name.
After eating a little bit, America decided to ask Korea some questions of his own.
"Speaking of your brother, I talked to him yesterday," he said, gulping down a mouthful of potato crust.
Korea froze with his fork halfway to his mouth and stared at America. "About what?"
"Well," America began, quickly wiping at his face with a napkin, "I was just chillin' in the lobby after my meetings, when suddenly your bro showed up trying to pick a fight. We avoided the fight mostly, but you know what he told me?" He gave Korea a very deliberate stare. "He said you and him got banned from your meetings yesterday because of that fight on the first day. But after lunch yesterday you rushed off because you said you had a conference." He leaned in a little to pressure the Korean. "So, if you were banned from your conferences yesterday, where did you rush off to?"
The Korean's eyebrows knitted together to form that look he always gave America when he was confused and slightly bewildered. Clearly he hadn't expected to be drilled with questions about his afternoon activities of the previous day. Admittedly, America had probably caught him off guard with the question, and he normally didn't speak to the Korean with such a serious tone either.
"Well…" Korea started, hesitantly, like he was thinking of how to piece everything he was about to say together. "Yesterday…I rushed off because…you remember that car that was behind us when I was trying to find a place to park? And you know how when you look in the rearview mirror, sometimes you can see the face of the person in the car behind you? Well, I thought the guy in the car behind us looked a lot like North." His tone changed suddenly as he began speaking faster. "Not that I know for sure that it was or not! But whoever it was didn't look too happy and I didn't want to take the chance. So I got out of there as quick as I could."
After a moment, America nodded, finding the explanation for why he'd rushed off sufficient. He did remember the dark car behind them. Commies probably drove dark cars right? It seemed right anyway. But Korea still hadn't said what he'd done instead of going to a meeting. If he'd been in the lobby, America should have seen him, but he hadn't.
"Okay," he said, eyes still boring into the other. "But what did you do instead of going to a meeting then? I didn't see you anywhere."
Korea seemed to hesitate a little longer this time. "I was talking to your brother."
The corners of America's mouth twitched into a frown. What business would Korea have talking to Matthew?
"To Mattie? About what?"
"Just stuff."
"…What sort of stuff?"
"Just…stuff!"
"Like what?"
"Just stuff about things! It's not important okay?" the Korean snapped, causing America to flinch. It wasn't often that Korea snapped at him, though he seemed to sink down a moment later, regretting the outburst. "Like…what to get you for Christmas and stuff! It's not important! Just stuff!"
Just stuff. That answer didn't satisfy him. It seemed to him that Korea wasn't telling him the full truth. If it had been something he could tell America, he surely would have told him right off. Normally the Korean was itching to tell him everything. If it really was 'just stuff,' he surely would have gone off about the oh-so-interesting conversation he'd had with Canada about video games or food or something like that. But instead, the Korean had sounded defensive. What reason would he have to hide what he'd been talking about with Canada of all people?
"You're sure?" he asked again, not really expecting anything more but figuring it was worth a shot.
"I'm positive," Korea answered, deciding once more that his food was a much safer thing for his eyes to look at than America. It was clear America wasn't going to get any more answers out of him today. Maybe talking to Matthew would give him better results.
"A-anyway…" Korea continued, taking one last bite of his Shepherd's Pie and washing it down with a gulp of water. "If your boss does decide to send you, we can do our gift exchange before you go see North. That will be okay, right?" He looked a little guilty bringing it up again. "I'm really sorry. If you do end up going, you might be there over Christmas."
"No, it's fine," America responded, though he was still feeling a bit disappointed about it. He'd just have to keep reminding himself that world peace was more important that his individual plans. "And yes, that would work. I'd like to see what Christmas is like in your country. Do many people celebrate it there?"
"Some," Korea said simply. "More than you'd think."
"Mm…" America simply nodded his response.
For a moment, there was an uncomfortable silence.
"Um…" Korea arranged what food was left in the dish with his fork so that it lined the sides of the dish, perhaps to make it look like he hadn't actually left as much as he had. "We should probably go. Do you have evening conferences today?"
"Yeah, I do… We should get going."
The two of them paid and made their way back out to the car through the chill air of the city of London. Even as they rode back to the conference center with the upbeat sound of K-pop blasting from the speakers, America still couldn't help feeling uneasy about the day's events and those to come.
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Author's Notes:
After the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and amid rising tensions due to planned military drills by South Korea, North Korea actually did request to speak to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who was invited to the country by North Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan.
Author/Artist: Me
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Eventual Commieburger (America x North Korea), South Korea, China, and probably the majority of the other canon characters as well as some other OC nations.
Rating: This chapter, K. Later T to M, not sure yet.
Warnings: CommunistxCapitalist, maybe angst, possibly suggestive material later on.
Summary: America takes an interest in a certain communist regime and sets out on a mission to win him over, hoping to settle some of the more troubling things from their past along the way.
In This Chapter:
Character(s) or Pairing(s): America, Korea
Rating: This chapter, K.
Warnings: Mentions of the Yeonpyeong shelling.
Summary: America grows suspicious of Korea’s whereabouts the previous day and prepares to confront him, but it turns out Korea’s got something to tell him that could threaten world peace.
Earlier chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
-------------
Chapter 5
The American lay awake in bed that night thinking about the many questions swimming in his head. What if Yong Soo had been in such a hurry to run off because he was meeting someone? But then…who was he meeting and why? Would the person just be a friend or would he be plotting something with them? If they were plotting something, then what? And against who? But then America had to take a moment and remind himself that the idea that Yong Soo was having secret meetings with people was a ridiculous one and that surely he'd been doing something much more…innocent. Which would, of course, remind him that he had no idea what leisurely activities South Korea could possibly have to rush off too in the middle of London, and he would continue to worry and speculate.
As for what might get through to North Korea, well, he didn't even have an idea.
At some point his mind must have calmed down enough for him to get to sleep, because the next thing he knew, he was jolting awake to the abrasive buzz of the hotel clock's alarm. His fingers groped for the off button and he gave a half-sigh, half-groan of relief when the noise was finally cut off. Blinking sleep from his bleary eyes, he sat up slowly and took in the unfamiliar surroundings of the hotel room for a moment or so before finally dragging himself from the warm embrace of the bed and going to get dressed.
That morning's meetings were long and tedious, as expected. The longest of them was with a lot of the Europeans, so of course America had to endure England's constant cynicism toward every idea he proposed. It got extremely old after a while. How was America supposed to help out Europe with their economy problem if England insisted on disagreeing with every single thing he said? After a while it got so old that the American finally just shut his mouth and listened to the rest of them argue, somewhat grateful that the Englishman's attention would now be focused on France instead of him.
When the meeting ended hours later with few agreements, he wasn't surprised, and left feeling like he could have skipped the whole meeting and wouldn't have missed a thing. What a great waste of a day! It was no wonder world politics moved so slowly. Not that the nation-spirits themselves really got much say-they just got to hand suggestions and observations to their bosses and hope it amounted to something. They could tell their bosses how so-and-so felt about some idea or suggestions other nations had given, but in the end the decisions fell on their leaders, not them, so if nation meetings had been unproductive, the information they gave back to their bosses was equally useless, and world relations went nowhere.
That was how it always had been, and how it always would be.
Since it was well past noon and America still hadn't eaten, he decided the first thing he should do was grab some food. He didn't have another meeting until the evening, so he had the next few hours to himself.
While he was trying to decide where to go for lunch, he saw a familiar face passing him out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, Yong Soo." He reached out to clap a hand firmly on the man's shoulder to keep him from walking past.
The Korean stopped and cast a wary glance at the other. "Oh, hey, Alfred," he said before his eyes drifted back to the oh-so-interesting floor. For a moment, it looked like he might not say any more, then he seemed to force himself to continue. "Look, I, um, need to talk to you."
America pulled back a little in surprise. Well, that had certainly caught him off-guard. He'd expected to be the one demanding to talk to Korea, not the other way around. Maybe whatever Korea needed to talk to him about had to do with where he'd been yesterday.
"Well, are you going to a meeting?" America asked, eyeing the other's suit and tie.
"I just got out of one."
"Perfect. I was about to go to lunch, so we can talk about it then if you haven't eaten yet."
"I haven't, so that works…"
They ended up back at The Stockpot, both of them in their suits and ties.
After the waitress had come to take their orders, America looked at Korea expectantly. The other had been silent since they'd gotten here. Clearly, if America ever wanted to know what Yong Soo needed to tell him, he'd just have to start the conversation himself. "You said you wanted to talk about something?" he prompted, watching as the other stirred the water the waitress had brought for him with his straw.
"Yeah…" Korea started, making a face like he wasn't exactly sure how to begin, his eyes focused on his water. He was quiet for a moment as he watched his straw create a mini-whirlpool in his cup. Korea had done the same thing last time they'd been here, America realized, when the subject of North Korea had come up.
"Well…?" America asked when the Korean was still silent a moment later. Korea shot him a frustrated look as if to say, 'don't rush me.'
The Korean let out a frustrated sigh. "I got a call from my boss last night," he said finally, sparing a glance at America for only a moment. "You know those military drills North kept threatening 'deadly retaliation' over if we went through with them? …Yeah, well, we are."
America's heart jolted. "You're doing them anyway?"
"Yes… And, um…" Korea continued, looking very uncomfortable indeed, "I hope you didn't have any plans for Christmas this year…because my boss said he got a call from your president, and apparently the North Koreans are asking your boss to send a delegation to talk to them before we start the drills. And since we're not sure how much influence North has with his leaders, my boss is asking if you can go too. Just in case…" He looked up for a moment to see America's reaction. "So…yeah."
America must have sat there for a moment just staring at Korea, because the other had to speak up to grab his attention once more. "Al?"
"Oh, um…"
Well, his first reaction had been a little twinge of fear. North Korea had responded negatively to South Korean drills before. They had fired back before, resulting in the deaths of four people on a border island, not so long ago. America bit his lip. He still remembered all his frantic phone calls to Yong Soo, asking if he was okay, if people had been hurt, if he thought they were going to war. It was all still fresh in his mind. There was no telling what North Korea might do if South Korea went through will drills the North had already threatened retaliation for. It seemed like a recipe for disaster. America had already spent the '50s fighting a war to make sure South Korea stayed democratic, out of the clutches of communism. But if North Korea retaliated, it could drag both Koreas-and America, due to his alliance with South-into another war. Things had been so tense between the two Koreas in the past year. There was no telling what would happen.
And his second reaction, of course, had been disappointment. The World Conference was always held in December, so the nations could get their affairs in order for the year ahead, and plan their end-of-the-year celebrations with other nations once business was done. Christmas was one of America's favorite holidays, and obviously he didn't want to miss it! He and Canada and England and France and sometimes more of their relatives usually got together for a couple of days of celebrations and general hijinks. It would break his heart to miss it, but this sounded serious…
"I wonder why my boss didn't call me…" he said quietly. It seemed like something the president would have let him know about.
"Maybe you'll get a call from him later?" Korea suggested. "Maybe he's still deciding if he wants to send someone or not. Or maybe he wanted to wait until you're back in the US to tell you."
"Maybe," America muttered, frowning. The president did have a lot of things to worry about. Letting his nation-spirit know about one of them could have easily slipped the man's mind. "Well, wait… you mean the North Koreans asked for Americans? Specifically?" he asked, wondering why South didn't just send some guys of his own.
"The North Koreans seem to like you guys better," Korea said, frowning. "Specifically, they asked for the governor of New Mexico. They like him for some reason. And I don't think they'd want a delegation from us when we're the ones they're mad at in the first place anyway."
"But North is always mad at me," America objected. "He makes a huge point of making sure I know he hates me."
Korea shrugged, seeming to lighten up a little since they'd started talking. "Hey, I can't explain the things he does. He'd rather talk to you apparently, but I couldn't tell you why. I don't get him either."
It was then that the waitress showed up with their food. They'd ordered something different than what they'd gotten last time, deciding today on Shepherd's Pie. Alfred poked at the top crusty part with his fork, trying to figure out if England had ever fed him anything like this or not. Korea, on the other hand, dug right in, making a face initially but continuing to eat without a problem after that. After a moment, America joined him, taking a cautious bite out of the crust on top.
As it turned out, the top part was potatoes with some weird spices in it (which must have been what Korea was making a face at). It wasn't bad; it just took a moment to get used to. As he got farther in, there was meat in the middle, which America guessed was mutton based on the name.
After eating a little bit, America decided to ask Korea some questions of his own.
"Speaking of your brother, I talked to him yesterday," he said, gulping down a mouthful of potato crust.
Korea froze with his fork halfway to his mouth and stared at America. "About what?"
"Well," America began, quickly wiping at his face with a napkin, "I was just chillin' in the lobby after my meetings, when suddenly your bro showed up trying to pick a fight. We avoided the fight mostly, but you know what he told me?" He gave Korea a very deliberate stare. "He said you and him got banned from your meetings yesterday because of that fight on the first day. But after lunch yesterday you rushed off because you said you had a conference." He leaned in a little to pressure the Korean. "So, if you were banned from your conferences yesterday, where did you rush off to?"
The Korean's eyebrows knitted together to form that look he always gave America when he was confused and slightly bewildered. Clearly he hadn't expected to be drilled with questions about his afternoon activities of the previous day. Admittedly, America had probably caught him off guard with the question, and he normally didn't speak to the Korean with such a serious tone either.
"Well…" Korea started, hesitantly, like he was thinking of how to piece everything he was about to say together. "Yesterday…I rushed off because…you remember that car that was behind us when I was trying to find a place to park? And you know how when you look in the rearview mirror, sometimes you can see the face of the person in the car behind you? Well, I thought the guy in the car behind us looked a lot like North." His tone changed suddenly as he began speaking faster. "Not that I know for sure that it was or not! But whoever it was didn't look too happy and I didn't want to take the chance. So I got out of there as quick as I could."
After a moment, America nodded, finding the explanation for why he'd rushed off sufficient. He did remember the dark car behind them. Commies probably drove dark cars right? It seemed right anyway. But Korea still hadn't said what he'd done instead of going to a meeting. If he'd been in the lobby, America should have seen him, but he hadn't.
"Okay," he said, eyes still boring into the other. "But what did you do instead of going to a meeting then? I didn't see you anywhere."
Korea seemed to hesitate a little longer this time. "I was talking to your brother."
The corners of America's mouth twitched into a frown. What business would Korea have talking to Matthew?
"To Mattie? About what?"
"Just stuff."
"…What sort of stuff?"
"Just…stuff!"
"Like what?"
"Just stuff about things! It's not important okay?" the Korean snapped, causing America to flinch. It wasn't often that Korea snapped at him, though he seemed to sink down a moment later, regretting the outburst. "Like…what to get you for Christmas and stuff! It's not important! Just stuff!"
Just stuff. That answer didn't satisfy him. It seemed to him that Korea wasn't telling him the full truth. If it had been something he could tell America, he surely would have told him right off. Normally the Korean was itching to tell him everything. If it really was 'just stuff,' he surely would have gone off about the oh-so-interesting conversation he'd had with Canada about video games or food or something like that. But instead, the Korean had sounded defensive. What reason would he have to hide what he'd been talking about with Canada of all people?
"You're sure?" he asked again, not really expecting anything more but figuring it was worth a shot.
"I'm positive," Korea answered, deciding once more that his food was a much safer thing for his eyes to look at than America. It was clear America wasn't going to get any more answers out of him today. Maybe talking to Matthew would give him better results.
"A-anyway…" Korea continued, taking one last bite of his Shepherd's Pie and washing it down with a gulp of water. "If your boss does decide to send you, we can do our gift exchange before you go see North. That will be okay, right?" He looked a little guilty bringing it up again. "I'm really sorry. If you do end up going, you might be there over Christmas."
"No, it's fine," America responded, though he was still feeling a bit disappointed about it. He'd just have to keep reminding himself that world peace was more important that his individual plans. "And yes, that would work. I'd like to see what Christmas is like in your country. Do many people celebrate it there?"
"Some," Korea said simply. "More than you'd think."
"Mm…" America simply nodded his response.
For a moment, there was an uncomfortable silence.
"Um…" Korea arranged what food was left in the dish with his fork so that it lined the sides of the dish, perhaps to make it look like he hadn't actually left as much as he had. "We should probably go. Do you have evening conferences today?"
"Yeah, I do… We should get going."
The two of them paid and made their way back out to the car through the chill air of the city of London. Even as they rode back to the conference center with the upbeat sound of K-pop blasting from the speakers, America still couldn't help feeling uneasy about the day's events and those to come.
-----------
Author's Notes:
After the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and amid rising tensions due to planned military drills by South Korea, North Korea actually did request to speak to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who was invited to the country by North Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan.