The warning signs were misread for two weeks, aided by a brilliant disinformation campaign. Those who should have known better chose not to believe their eyes.
More than a million soldiers were moved to forward deployment positions. Huge supply convoys began to move south.
At one minute past midnight local time, thirty thousand North Korean artillery batteries stationed just north of the Demilitarized Zone opened fire. Their most tempting target was the great metropolis of Seoul, mankind's third largest city.
Two thousand ultra-long-range guns were each claimed to be able to deliver fifty kilograms of high explosives per minute. The destruction in the urban boundaries would be equivalent to ten Hiroshimas per day.
From space, the South Korean capital looked like a galaxy of flashbulbs in a crowded stadium. Red and yellow flares glowed as the firestorms spread.
Some effort was made by the People's Army to avoid targeting the densest residential neighborhoods, but no area was spared. The tremendous roar never abated.
Streams of refugees created instant gridlock. Shell craters and burning vehicles blocked most escape routes.
Those who could walk continued on foot, circling back and taking hours to pass obstacles. Clouds of airborne dust, ashes, and smoke reduced visibility to near-zero.
The DPRK People's Army poured across the border in a wide front. By dawn, advance units had penetrated up to thirty kilometers. The allied response was shamefully inadequate. The South Korean defenders were unprepared for what were essentially suicide soldiers. The attackers probed for weaknesses, and sent special forces battalions to smash through regardless of the cost.
The South Korean air force attempted to bomb the half-buried artillery emplacements, but the guns were often moved and there were many decoys.
Massive stockpiles of chemical weapons had been brought up to the front, ready to be used at a moment's notice, but that order was never given.
On the second day, US Army and Marine brigades launched small counterattacks on both coasts, holding their positions for six hours before retreating. US Air Force and Navy jets suffered losses destroying bridges, fuel depots, intersections, and dams throughout the North. Bombers devastated Pyongyang without regard for civilian casualties.
By the fourth day, the invasion had penetrated one hundred seventy kilometers, capturing or surrounding all of Seoul. By now the invaders were overextended.
Militarily, this was the best Kim Il Sung could hope for.
Only hours before a scheduled counterstrike by reserve divisions arriving from the south, he declared a ceasefire. Most fighting stopped in half an hour.
In his subsequent speech (the first time the world heard his voice), Kim pointed out he now controlled twelve million South Korean hostages.
These would all be murdered, perhaps by nerve gas, unless the South Korean government agreed to reunification of the peninsula under his terms.
There were signals from China that Kim would be willing to settle for only the territory his forces had gained.
Those unwilling to live under the benign guidance of the Great Leader were free to leave the occupied zones.
The next day came a clarification: North Korea would not settle for less than full reunification, but local officials would be permitted to retain their posts in a national unity government.
Both army groups would stand down, but their WMDs would remain on alert.
The DPRK psychological intelligence bureau had long planned every step of the transition.
In the White House situation room, surrounded by lobbyists representing every interest group, the President had to decide which was more important: twenty million human lives, or the abstract notion of freedom.
"I have made my decision," Ralph Nader said.
Infinite Thunder by Jack Arcalon.
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