The situation in 2000
North Korea has just survived a devastating famine. Its patron in Moscow fell in 1988, its army is starved of fuel and spares, and Kim Jong-il's 'military-first' regime bargains with its nuclear programme as the South offers a Sunshine Policy of engagement.
1
1
1
23m
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-
2
10
Resources
Army
66 divisions
- Armoured6
- Mechanised8
- Infantry30
- Airborne2
- Garrison20
Navy
29 ships
- Frigates3
- Submarines26
Air force
560 aircraft
- Fighters450
- Close air support30
- Strike aircraft80
Ideologies and leaders
In power on 1 January 2000: Kim Jong-il (Workers' Party of Korea). Every leader below can come to power in TND, through the elections, coups and roads of its focus tree.
Democratic
Hwang Jang-yop
Conservatism
Defector
Yun Chi-ho
Democratic
Communist
In power, 2000 Kim Jong-il
Stalinism
Workers' Party of Korea
Kim Jong-un
Stalinism
Kim Kyong-hui
Marxism
Kim Jong-nam
Marxism
Jang Song-thaek
Marxism
Fascist
Jo Myong-rok
Fascism
Korean People's Army
Non-Aligned
Kim Yong-nam
Oligarchy
Supreme People's Assembly
The focus tree
North Korea's own tree has 418 focuses. It opens with The Chinese Border, The Currency Reform, The Kaesong Shops, The Juche Economy, The Chinese Orders Dry Up, The Yongbyon Reactor and more. By kind: industry (151), political (143), army xp (124), historical (52). Taking every focus, one after another, would take about 30 years - the roads are exclusive, so a playthrough sees only part of it.
Drag to pan, Ctrl + scroll to zoom, click a focus for its description and rewards. Focus names in the guides below jump to it.
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Path guides
How to reach each of North Korea's roads. The same guides are in game, as free decisions in the North Korea Path Guide category.
The Line of the Party
How North Korea's politics begin:
- Play the Songun State: the army first, Yongbyon, the markets, the heir and the June summit. No focus is tied to a date.
- and : the plenum is an event - the Juche Fortress or the Line of Reform.
- During the crisis the generals may take charge instead (the Military Committee).
With historical focuses on, the AI builds the Juche Fortress and Kim Jong-un succeeds.
Korean Détente
The mechanic both Koreas share:
One bar between Confrontation and Détente, shown in the Korean Détente decisions. Accepting rice and opening Mount Kumgang move it towards Détente in both Koreas; missiles and tests move it back.
High détente opens a Koryo Confederation with the South; at the Brink of War a war of liberation becomes possible, if the world is tense.
The Juche Fortress
The bomb and the family (historical):
- Yongbyon restarted, the 2006 test, missiles and the Six-Party Talks played for aid.
- The succession: Kim Jong-un, or the eldest son if he was chosen.
The Line of Reform
Chinese methods:
- Jang Song-thaek, special zones, family farms and Southern investment.
- With détente high, propose a Koryo Confederation to Seoul.
Something Hidden
Three roads are hidden:
One opens if the generals take the rice during the crisis.
Two open inside the Juche Fortress: one for a leader who loves cinema, one for a rocket that could go further than Washington. Only one hidden road can ever open.
The AI never takes them when historical focuses are on.
Mechanics
How North Korea's own systems work. In game: the North Korea: Mechanic Guide decisions.
Korean Detente
The two Koreas share one bar between Confrontation and Detente, shown in each country's Korean Detente decisions. A change made in either capital moves both bars by the same amount.
The five ranges: the Brink of War (a crisis event), a Cold Peace, the Armistice (the start), Sunshine and One People.
What moves it: the South's family reunions and rice and fertiliser, the North's accepting the rice and opening Mount Kumgang push towards Detente; loudspeakers on the DMZ and a missile over Japan push towards Confrontation, as do both trees' hard-line focuses.
What it does: union by agreement (the Korean Confederation, or the North's Koryo Confederation) needs Detente of at least 80 of 100; a refused offer can be made again by decision. A war on the other Korea needs the bar at 20 or less and a tense world.