Multidimensional connectivity of North Korean arterial roads

North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated countries, and this isolation is embedded in its road transportation system. Shaped by difficult topography and centralized state investment, the road network is fragmented and cannot be adequately explained using conventional single-scale connectivity measures. This study applies a multidimensional network analysis to examine North Korea’s road system across global, intercity, and local scales, using community detection and centrality metrics. The results reveal a strongly centralized structure dominated by Pyongyang, which consistently ranks among the most important nodes at all analytical levels. In contrast, inter-regional connectivity remains weak, and many connections depend on structurally fragile corridors near community boundaries. These findings suggest that the road network prioritizes centralized control over regional mobility and accessibility. By offering the first quantitative assessment of North Korea’s road system, the study demonstrates how multidimensional approaches can improve transport network analysis in politically and geographically constrained contexts.