The North Korean Chonma-ho Tank

The North Korean Chonma-ho Tank

As a communist state, North Korea has received assistance with military technology from Russia and China, which has included such tanks as the Chinese Type 59 (copy of the T-54A) and Russian tanks like the T-54/55 & T-62.

Western security reports tend to indicate in the public eye that most of the North Korean forces resources focus on artillery systems, mostly rockets, however indigenous tanks have been spotted in national public day parades which resemble Russian tanks.

Due to the shroud of secrecy and self imposed isolation, much is not known about these tanks, however the parades give the West the opportunity to track the evolution of North Korean tanks.

One such tank has been the Chonma-ho (Pegasus) which entered production around the 1980’s and resembles the Russian T-62. The vehicle up to has received visual upgrades such as a laser-designator, armoured skirts, Explosive Reactive Armour and increasing the calibre of the main gun form 115mm to possibly 125mm smoothbore as seen on the T-72. These upgraded vehicles have been seen as recent as 2010.