Full Force and Effect

by Tom Clancy

Supreme Leader of North Korea Choi Ji-hoon wants to develop his country’s nuclear weapons program, but is being hindered by sanctions from the United States and its allies. He tasks his foreign intelligence chief, Ri Tae-jin, with fast-tracking the program in order for the country to be taken more seriously as a superpower. General Ri then arranges for mining to begin in the city of Chongju, where a large deposit of rare-earth minerals has been recently discovered; the profits produced would then be used to fund the nuclear weapons program. He acquires an investor, Mexican mining mogul Óscar Roblas de Mota, who in turn hires Duke Sharps, head of an American corporate espionage and investigations firm, to oversee the mining operation.

Meanwhile, the American government becomes concerned about North Korea’s recent test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which had crashed into the Sea of Japan. They push for more sanctions in front of the United Nations. Recognizing the lack of intelligence assets in North Korea, Director of National Intelligence Mary Pat Foley tasks CIA non-official cover operative Adam Yao with infiltrating the Chongju mining operation under cover as a skilled worker. He eventually cultivates an asset in the form of his boss, Hwang Min-ho.

Later, a cargo ship bound for North Korea, which carried parts for the ICBM similar to the recently test fired one, was confiscated by the Navy SEALs. As a result, Choi and General Ri arrange for the assassination of U.S. President Jack Ryan, who has been an obstacle to their plan, to be done at his upcoming state visit in Mexico City; they later secure the services of an Iranian bombmaker named Adel Zarif and the Maldonado cartel.

Meanwhile, President Ryan arrives in Mexico City and is later injured in the assassination attempt on him; however, he survives. General Ri then sends a hit squad to kill Zarif in order to deny any connection to the North Koreans, but the bombmaker escapes. He then asks Roblas, who then tasks Edward Riley, one of Sharps’s employees, to finish the job for him. This attracts the attention of The Campus, who have been investigating Sharps’s connection to the North Koreans up to this point. They later rescue Zarif from Riley in a secluded villa owned by Roblas in Mexico, although Riley escapes and Campus operator Sam Driscoll dies.

Fearing for his life after failing to obtain the nuclear weapons and assassinate President Ryan, General Ri commits suicide, taking his family along with him. Meanwhile, Hwang reaches out to his contact in China, intending to defect. Yao is then tasked with spiriting him and his family out of North Korea via a drone with the ability to carry passengers. The drone does not fit Yao, so he has to escape on his own. He is later rescued by the Chinese, who were contacted by President Ryan.

Hwang later leads a coup backed by the Chinese in North Korea, deposing Choi from power. Meanwhile, The Campus tracks down Riley in Thailand and confront him. He tries to escape but later falls to his death.