After it became definitively known that North Korea decided to send its military to fight as part of the russian armed forces, russian propagandists began to speculate on what other weaponry they could request from North Korea. Although, so far, this primarily involves old North Korean Type 73 machine guns produced in the 1970s, North Korea also has several other models that are of interest to russia. Notably, russians have publicly expressed interest in the Koksan 170mm SPA in their media.
Now russian state media have decided to mention the North Korean tank, which was once dubbed the North Korean Armata, and some sources even called it a combination of the Armata and the American Abrams. russian propagandists specifically promote it as a tank that could easily destroy Western vehicles such as the Leopard and the Abrams.
Read more: What Makes North Korea's 170-mm Koksan Self-Propelled Artillery Special, and Why Are russian Propagandists Interested in It?
It is still hard to believe that the issue of transferring main battle tanks will be settled in the coming weeks or months, but overall, it is necessary to note the increase in appetites after troops from the DPRK go for training in russia and later to the front.
Regarding the North Korean tank, it is the Cheonma-2, previously designated as M2020 or M2024. This vehicle was first shown publicly in October 2020, when nine such tanks participated in the parade honoring the Workers’ Party of Korea. According to russian statements, serial production of these tanks has started in the DPRK.
Information about this vehicle occasionally appears in various open sources, because the DPRK keeps its developments secret. Meanwhile, the russians primarily emphasize that the vehicle is equipped with Bulsae-3 anti-tank guided missiles with laser guidance, which are positioned as the main weapon against Western tanks used by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
The enemy also emphasizes that the DPRK has allegedly managed to organize the production of modern FCS with thermal imagers and that North Korea has supposedly tested an APS.
Overall, in enemy media, this tank is portrayed almost as a miracle weapon, which, as russian media hint, would be a formidable opponent in the hands of DPRK military personnel. The vehicle is likely equipped with a copy of the Soviet 2A46 125 mm gun, and there might be a version with a 115 mm gun.
Read more: russians Received Old North Korean Type 73 Machine Guns Produced in the 1970s
