FAQ

There's no indication that this is anything but set in modern day as of the time of filming/release.

No. In the dissolution of the Soviet Union, from 1989 to '91, Russia ceased to be part of it; an event which over time drastically reduced any hostile motives Russia had with the Western bloc, leaving mainly only North Korea and Cuba, as well as (the far more powerful but far less extreme) mainland China, as the remnants of the Cold War and overall arms race (or ideological mockery) between Communists and Westerners. As such, for this story, the Soviet Union has been replaced by North Korea. It was speculated that an ex-Spetsnaz officer (the Spetsnaz being Russian special forces) would be in the film as a trained mercenary, though; yet little was known about him or how much we would see of him in the film.

Yes, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was originally presented as the invading regime, but after pressure from the PRC government and studio concerns on how it could impact the international box office, the film was digitally altered in post-production to replace all the PRC flags, posters and dialogue with that of North Korea.