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I have decided to do a game as North Korea, or rather the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. I am playing the World 2020 scenario, with no mods, plain SR2020 without the expansion but with the latest patch.

House rules are: no technology trading, a strong preference for native-built equipment, and only equipment purchases when they can be justified in a role-playing manner (which means they will come primarily from Russia and China). Equipment sales, on the other hand, would be quite common.

The reasons are that this story/game should have a unique North Korean touch to it, which cannot be done by buying American ships and German tanks, nor by propelling North Korea tech-purchase-wise straight into the 21st century. The World 2020 scenario was chosen because North Korea has the South invade anyway pretty soon and I would much prefer not to have China and Russia join in right away.

The game has already run for about a year (I think) although not very much has happened yet. The next thing will be to begin an offensive into South Korea to liberate Seoul, so that is why now is a good time to start. Btw - what tools do you use for taking screenshots?

The background so far:

The first thing I did after locking production controls, removing military initiative etc. was to deploy all my engineers and begin construction of three large industrial and three large commercial goods factories as well as four collective farms. North Korea has a terrible trade deficit which must be removed.

I bought the Spanish C-295 transport aircraft design and sold it world-wide to make some money. This is the only money-raising scheme I have used so far and probably will be the last.

North Korea also acquired several designs from Russia, most notably the Neustrashimy frigate design. The design is from 88, which fits with my 90 tech level, and it has adequate stats and should not be impossible for North Korea to build. I have also bought designs for the T-72M1 tank, the MiG-21 and the Mi-24. The T-90 is another option I will examine to simulate the North Korean M2001, although I still suspect the M2001 may be in the files somewhere, so I want to research it myself.

I have completed two research centers and am building a third. I trade mostly on auto, but water and some other things go to Saudi Arabia via diplomatic sales, and DPRK-Saudi ties are extremely good at the moment. The national debt (small as it was) has already been paid off.

Japan declared war on me very early in the game, just after completing the first set of coal plants to provide power for my cold and hungry population. I instantly decided to embark on an aggressive course of invasion and subjugation and began collecting all my amphibious units in the far north, ready for dropping into newly-researched and built landing ships.

Initially I tried to transfer parts of the West Coast Fleet to the East, but this ended in disaster in the Straits of Tsushima, where a Japanese cruiser group was waiting. Consequently, I decided to simply build up my strength in the East before sending out the fleet. A pack of Najin and Imp. Najin frigates, obsolete though they may seem to decadent Western eyes, were enough to roam around the Sea of Japan, clearing out Japanese picket patrol boats. When reinforced by three newly-built Neustrashimys, the North Korean navy was even strong enough to take on the Japanese destroyers one by one, using hit-and-run tactics.

The Japanese navy intruded into home waters on several occasions and was repelled by shore artillery and the brave and daring North Korean air force. This was followed up by a Japanese double mass airstrike on both coasts of our Motherland, the primary targets being our defensive troop deployments facing the fascist American imperialists and their traitorous lapdogs in the south. Through courage and sacrifice, an eventual massing of air-defence assets in these areas led to the cowhearted Japanese air-aggression being beaten back with heavy losses.

When the invasion force for Japan was finally assembled, it approached Hokkaido with the aim of landing near Hakodate or Sapporo. Initially the fleet met little resistance, as local elements of the Japanese navy (which hypocritically calls itself a defense force despite its obvious imperialist intentions!) scrambled vainly to stop it. On reaching land, however, the brave and courageous fleet was met with a storm of cowardly missiles launched from MLRS launchers and had to retreat, suffering heavy losses with two Najins and two Imp. Najins lost. At precisely that moment, South Korea declared war and the invasion fleet returned to home waters (for the time being), since the Motherland is now endangered much more directly.

In other news, the leader of the DPRK yesterday received a flower basket from a deputation of teachers.

A minor update - I forgot to mention that my unemployment rate was really really low, at about 1.5%. Due to the extreme poverty of the DPRK, it didn't make much difference, though.

I have also found a way to take pictures and will next look for a place to host them.

Sounds very interesting.

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Dropped by invaders, BOMB RAID IN VAIN!

I will post the update now and add screenshots later. I have already made them but must find a host site for them.



As mentioned before, South Korea declared war and prompt action had to be taken in the DMZ. South Korean troops began firing on our courageous defenders who returned fire from their prepared and purely defensive positions. I had deployed at the border a deeply-echeloned body of mostly mechanized infantry backed up with a small fragment of the DPRK's artillery force and some AA and supply vehicles. The initial set-up would have worked great if the DPRK was a modern high-tech army, but unfortunately of course it isn't and consequently some things went wrong nearly immediately.

At first, it didn't look so bad. South Korea's offensive formations, including a very large number of M48, K1 and K2 tank units, where quickly met at the border and worn down. Mechanized infantry units were also engaged and treated rather roughly. But a problem developed at the western end of the front, directly opposite Seoul. The problem concerned a very large concentration of South Korean artillery protected by dug-in mechanized infantry with full garrisons to back them up. The South Korean artillery was considerably more numerous in this sector than my own, and considerably more advanced. South Korean guns outranged mine in some cases and the front line of the DPRK army was under heavy fire and taking casualties.



A decision was taken at the highest level to neutralise the threat of South Korean artillery firing from the protection of Seoul by capturing the capital city and hopefully forcing the South to surrender.

The initial attack was successful in the centre and in the east, but in the west the withering fire of the artillery in Seoul caused a considerable hold-up. Additional units held in reserve were comitted to this front, including the best and latest addition to the DPRK armour - the T-72M1 formations. Finally all infantry units, AT units and armour units were deployed, including all foot infantry, and sent to Seoul to win the battle by means of attrition.



It only took a few days of combat for the high command to realize that this strategy was not working. South Korean artillery fire in the Seoul sector was so withering that any new unit to enter the combat zone evaporated nearly instantly. This was a situation where only huge numbers of men and vehicles could secure victory for the Motherland. And this led to the final tactic that was successful - the all-arms mechanized wave attack. All units received orders to attack Seoul. All remaining units were deployed for the battle, including over four hundred artillery units. The entire Western Fleet was sent to Seoul to help with shore bombardment, and was unfortunately lost in the process.



This finally enabled the brave DPRK forces to establish artillery superiority in the Seoul sector. Brave AA units mingling with the infantry to draw enemy fire enabled the few remaining combat units of the DPRK to slowly take territory in bitter city fighting. Casualties were very heavy on both sides. The population of Seoul dwindled to a mere two million. But Seoul was finally taken and securely held against the feeble imperialist counter-attacks. The South Korean capital was moved to Pusan.

Eventually it became obvious that even this strategy was not going to secure complete success, and the DPRK combat units were starting to be seriously depleted. There was a very grave danger that a serious and determined South Korean counter-attack could completely reverse the situation, and lead to the loss of all captured territory and even threaten Pyongyang. So, feelers were extended to the hated enemy concerning a temporary cease-fire, which was secured at the cost of four billion dollars.

Altogether, the DPRK lost 600 units while the ROK lost 300. DPRK had 150.000 military casualties while the ROK had 100.000 and several million civilian casualties. The ROK has only three land build fabs now, while the North has been able to expand to fourteen. Given this ratio, it seems likely that the next war (which is bound to come soon) will finally secure total success.



The South Korean Navy and Air Force are both seriously mauled, while the North Korean counterparts continue to grow and expand. The North's wing of MiG-29s is still intact although the Su-25s were lost. Mi-24s are building to replace these losses.

The presence of Japanese ground units in South Korea is confirmed, and Japanese ships are in South Korean waters as well.

A period of reconstruction and repair followed, the entire North Korean army was refitted hastily and then reassembled into a defensive front. Petrol power plants around Seoul were scrapped and coal plants built around Pyongyang to take over their tasks. A new type of air-defense destroyer has been researched (Kashin) and they are being built as fast as the shipyards can cope to provide at least some form of air cover for the ASW-heavy naval forces the DPRK currently posses.

Just when the main task of re-organising the armed forces was complete, South Korea declared war yet again, forcing the brave peasants and workers of the DPRK's army to complete the task of liberation on the Korean peninsular.

The situation at the southern front just before the new declaration of war:

Buy China ZTZ-99G tank design,It has really good defence stats.So u wont be worried about arty so much

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Just when I discovered the meaning of life, they changed it.

Well, I have my house rule about buying equipment - nothing unrealistic, nothing above my own tech level (91), no tech trading so no buying units that require a tech I don't have. So for now I'll probably stick with my PT-85s and T-72s unless my next offensive in South Korea is a catastrophic failure.

Sorry for the images - just noticed that they all have a backdrop in them that I didn't notice when I was making them. Will correct in future, not now due to time constraints.

I have been thinking some more about possible equipment purchases, and now believe I should have bought the Krivak instead of Neustrashimy, since North Korea (IRL) does posess a Krivak hull with the intention of refurbishing it. I am also considering buying the Su-25 and MiG-29 designs once I research digital fly-by-wire (still haven't completed analog ).

BTW - a "bug" if you will - the DPRK according to most reports does possess ERFB-BB ammunition, in particular for the famous Koksan 170mm artillery piece. So North Korea should have this technology at start (not sure if its compatible with the tech rating though). A large handicap in this game is that my best artillery (tube) fires only 41km, when the Koksan has been recorded several times firing up to 60km with rocket-assisted ammunition, especially in the Iran-Iraq war which is more than twenty years ago.

i really love this AAR ,becuase you are playing with a real underdog & by the way if you want realistic then i suggest you don't buy from westren nations as well ,keep up the good eork & please more images less writing i love to watch more than i do for reading

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"If I weren't an Egyptian, I would have wished to be an Egyptian" Mostafa kamel


MAY THE SOULS OF THE THOUSANDS WHO GAVE UP THERE MOST PRECIOUS THING FOR US REST IN PEACE ,AMIN

As mentioned, the South declared war again. Our heroic and courageous troops were prepared, and rapidly drove the viscious enemy out of the suburbs of Seoul.



Notable was the performance of the people's militias, hastily set up in the liberated city Seoul, who fought bravely to rid the rest of our Motherland from the imperialists.





The offensive then gained momentum. A South Korean outpost was surrounded and eliminated.



An overview of the situation:



South Korea again offered peace, demanding reparations from the DPRK. We laugh at such offers and refuse them outright. We will make peace on our terms, and on our terms only!





As our brave and glorious troops approach the current seat of the imperialist government in Pusan, we come into contact with Japanese troops for the first time. A quite considerable number of infantry, artillery and anti-tank units has been landed from Japan. Most of these units are rapidly eliminated, but the cowardly enemy continues to send more.



And here is, roughly, where the offensive bogged down:



Currently, the Front is in a stalemate. The South Koreans have concentrated such a huge amount of artillery in Pusan and its surroundings that it is nearly impossible to get close enough to do some damage, and even then the brave DPRK forces are very badly mauled very quickly. Several large attacks have been repulsed with very heavy losses, and since the artillery ranges are roughly equal even trying for an artillery match is currently not an option. Two small towns have traded hands five or six times, and the South Koreans always immediately build full garrisons in them. South of Pusan lie the remains of the South Korean fleet and a considerably larger squadron of Japanese warships, which guard the city from air attack (my aircraft are also severely mauled and mostly repairing currently).

It's interesting to note, however, that this situation is very similar to the situation in the Korean War in the 1950s, where the situation was turned by an amphibious assault on the coast. I have emplaced artillery along the coast to prevent such infringements. Several enemy warships have probed the coastal defences and were sunk.

I am currently unsure what to do. In principle, the Unification War is won. All land and aircraft fabrication facilities are in the DPRK's hands, only two naval yards remaining in the hands of the South. But swamping Pusan with units the way I did it with Seoul is not possible due to a serious lack of military manpower. I certainly need to do a considerable bit of reorganizing if I want to try that anyway. Especially because two troop concentrations further in the west have not yet been eliminated.

The DPRK is now at tech level 92 and has purchased designs for the Su-25, Mi-8 and Krivak II.

Some other curious points - the South Korean treasury is close to overflowing with 160.000 M dollars inside. Crazy. I don't know where they get the money.

Just a short notice - I'm suspending this AAR for ca. 10 days while I enjoy myself in a UN-recognized, non-European country NOT INCLUDED in SR2020.

When I come back I want to see some reliable strategy suggestions for the final push on Pusan!

A good strategy would be to hit them with a sack of oranges. It doesn't leave a bruise and it shows them who's boss.

I'd suggest working around the West side. Take the entire peninsula except for Pusan. Then use your navy to approach from both sides and wipe out the remnants of the SK navy and the Japanese ships that are there.

Once the waters are cleared, you can commence bombardment of Pusan with your ships, planes, and artillery. Use units with high artillery defense to draw the fire of the Pusan artillery, then move your own arty and ships in to bombard. Your planes you can use on the artillery after you've taken out any AA units that SK has left.

Once you've gotten rid of the ships, AA, and artillery, it's just a matter of wearing them down with superior numbers.

I have to disagree with everybody here.

It seems the situation is actually pretty dire. The Americans are geographically very close to the Korea's and Japan typically has very good relations with the US. Any disastrous attack on Japan or its fleets will be met with a strong response from the US, and then that's when the entire DPRK initiative to take South Korea will be reversed against them, or may even provoke a declaration of war from another neighbouring Asian country.

I think the best thing to do is to stop the expansion for the time being and halt the war (but not through means of accepting a peace treaty). By doing this, you'll at most experience the odd skirmish by South Korea and Japanese forces. Now, take advantage of this "ceasefire" if you will to build enough factories and meet all of your domestic resource demand and start building fabrications to double land, air and missile output. Concentrate on expanding the economy, particularly the GDP/c which will increase the consumer purchasing power and therefore lead to bigger growth and more swaths of money in the treasury. By strengthening your economy in this way, you can be sure the economic infrastructure of North Korea will not collapse under the weight of the increased land mass and therefore population obtained and to better withstand a future military attack by a foreign power. I would buy Russian researched air defence sites and build some, particularly around Seoul and the coastline facing the US. I would then work to strengthen, even against such huge odds, the diplomatic ties with Japan. Build an excess of industrial goods factories and give Japan a few hundred tonnes regularly to boost relations. Eventually ask for a peace treaty and build up relations immensely. By doing so, Japan will not declare war on you again, at least not in the foreseeable future, so don't worry about their tanks or warships protecting the city any more. Ally with China using the same methods and perhaps start looking into the prospects of obtaining nuclear weaponry (no doubt the UN will be pissed though, just for obtaining them, because its the DPRK we are talking about at the end of the day). Buy air based nuclear warheads (the ones that take least to build) and produce at least 5 of them. Then, after reassembling your recovered army, begin the expansion of North Korea into the remaining areas by using massive air support. It might also be worth entertaining the idea of using the nuclear bombs. Three to two nuclear warheads would finish the job. Firstly, try sending massive anti-tank, garrison, tank, strategic bombers, air defence equipment, planes and bombers head first into the city, send some warships to the coast of the city and bombard it with bombs and hope for the best. If you can increase relations with China enough, they may even be prompted to help assist you in war.


If all else fails, then PLAN B. Nuclear warheads.

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"One death is a tragedy; one million is a statistic." - Joseph Stalin

In reality, what you're suggesting might work.

In game terms it won't. Each time another nation declares war on North Korea, the North Koreans get a diplomatic boost world-wide. Should the North Koreans then pursue peace, they will get yet another boost to relations by seeking the peaceful way. Japan declared war on North Korea, thus any combat will not result in loss of world-wide prestige. The US will not be angry with North Korea for sinking Japanese ships or killing Japanese troops. Not in game terms, anyways. Twice in this AAR, South Korea has declared war on North Korea. The first time, North Korea initiated the peace effort. I'm willing to bet that there are few other nations, if any, that are close to declaring war on North Korea at this particular time.

If he begins building more military fabrication sites, he will start losing diplomatic good-will around the world. The various nations get upset when you build up your capacity to produce military units. If he refrains from building more and keeps what he's taken, he'll do well enough in the near-term. North Korea and South Korea together have quite a few fabrication facilities that will allow him to build up quite an impressive force as he builds up his technology level.

If he keeps up the process of seeking peace when others declare war on him, he will be able to exist peacefully for quite some time without worrying about the major powers.

I definitely agree with you on his strengthening the economy. However, I think he needs to get rid of South Korea first. Once he's got the entire peninsula, he can focus on his economy and building up a more modern military.

As for the nukes... If he trades for the technology, he will not garner any international hatred. If he researches the techs himself, he will get much of the world upset. If there are alot of AA units in and around Pusan, air-launched nukes won't be of any help unless he launches 10+ of them at the exact same time. 1 or 2 might make it through the AA. There's a reason most people use ICBM nukes in the game... They don't get shot down. Plus, many, if not most of South Korean units are NBC protected. The nukes will damage the city quite a bit... might even destroy it outright if enough are used... but the units will not be as badly hurt as you might think. On top of that, the world won't much like him if he uses nukes(assuming he's got the standard settings for the game). In fact, much of the world will likely declare war on him if he uses the nukes.

Alliance wise... China is a good match, possibly even Russia. Remember, he's role-playing the game. North Korea would never ally themselves with Japan. They might work for a cease-fire if they thought the Japanese would win the war that the Japanese started. However, if they thought they could hold the japanese off and not lose land, they would probably not settle for peace and just wait until their military was strong enough to launch a counter-invasion on the islands.