Steel Rain

In North Korea, chief director Ri Tae-han assigns Eom Chul-Woo of the Reconnaissance General Bureau to assassinate Park Byung-jin and the minister of state security to prevent a coup. Eom accepts the dangerous mission and begins preparing under tight secrecy. The stakes are high, as eliminating key targets could avert a political upheaval at the top.

Eom eliminates the minister of state security in a car accident, removing a major obstacle to the coup. The operation remains focused on Park Byung-jin, the supreme leader’s rival, to prevent a sudden power shift. The act demonstrates the ruthlessness of the covert operation within the North Korean leadership.

In South Korea, senior presidential secretary Kwak Chul-woo congratulates Kim Kyung-young on winning the presidency. Li, an ethnic Korean in charge of China's state security operations, informs Kwak about the assassination plot and the possibility of a North Korean coup. The briefing foreshadows cross-border tensions and sets the stage for international intrigue.

Eom bids farewell to his wife and daughter and travels to the Kaesong Industrial Region, where the North intends to meet the North Korean supreme leader for a North Korea–China event. North infiltrators hijack a US MLRS vehicle and fire two missiles at Kaesong, throwing the operation into chaos. Eom attempts to inform Ri about Park’s absence just as the missiles land, accelerating the crisis.

Survivors are left in chaos as KPA troops massacre the remaining civilians. Eom, with two schoolgirls, carries the gravely injured supreme leader in a toy company van and escapes across the border with the Chinese delegation. They reach South Korea, triggering a broader international incident.

Kwak meets CIA station chief Joanne Martin, who absolves the United States of responsibility for the incident. The revelation deepens political intrigue and frames the crisis as a broader international confrontation. The disclosure influences subsequent decisions by Seoul's government and its allies.

In Ilsan, an obstetrician tends to the supreme leader but cannot extract a bullet lodged near his brain. Eom informs Ri of his location, prompting reinforcements to kill the supreme leader. Ri reveals himself as the coup’s mastermind, setting the stage for direct confrontation.

Eom evacuates the wounded supreme leader to a plastic surgery clinic run by Kwak’s ex-wife, Su-Hyeong. Kwak arrives and, along with other South Koreans, is tied up as Eom contends with mounting danger. South Korean special forces eventually detain Eom while the supreme leader receives treatment in a military hospital.

President Lee declares martial law in South Korea as North Korea declares war, triggering a full-scale crisis across the peninsula. The clash of factions and armed forces heightens international tensions and sets up a climactic confrontation. The stage is set for a last attempt to quell the coup and restore order.

The next morning, Eom and Kwak shadow the director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service as he meets North Korean military leaders at Nodongdangsa. North Korean snipers attack the meeting, triggering a car chase. Eom shoots Park, who unexpectedly leads the North Korean delegation.

Ri reveals plans to attack the South with nuclear missiles but cannot access the warheads without codes. The US launches missiles toward North Korea, North Korea strikes toward Japan, and a Japanese ship’s interception creates an EMP that knocks out the US missiles. In response, Eom persuades Kwak to leak false news that the supreme leader is dead, prompting North Korea to pause its plans.

Eom and Kwak return to the North through a secret tunnel to confront Ri in his underground bunker. The ROK Air Force fires on the bunker, destroying it and killing everyone inside, ending the coup. With the threat resolved, President Kim announces peace and reunification talks, and South Korea repatriates the supreme leader in exchange for half of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.