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| Chonma 2 tanks |
The Korean People's Army Ground Force, also known as the North Korean Army, has always been a slightly mysterious force, with very limited information on its daily activities and exact structure. It was recently pushed more into the limelight as the North Korean dictator Lil’Ki.. Rocketma… Kim Jong Un, sent tens of thousands of its troops to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine, by trying to recapture the Russian territory. Before this the DPRK had only sent ammunition and missiles to Russia.
So far only North Korean infantry has seen any direct combat. Some KPAGF artillery pieces have been spotted in Russia, but haven’t been fielded by either Russian or Korean crews as of 9.12.2024.
Could the DPRK provide Russia with other weapons in addition to artillery and meat? The KPAGF has roughly 3500 main battle tanks and 5-600 light tanks. With the Russian Army suffering catastrophic MBT losses in Ukraine, far out pacing the Russian industry’s capability to build new tanks and refurbish them from the Soviet boneyards.
The majority of the KPAFG tank fleet is made up of old Soviet and Chinese tanks, with some domestic upgrades of these. The numbers on the more modern tanks is not exactly known, but is certainly not numbered in the thousands.
Similarly to the Russian MBTs, the KPAFG tanks can be divided into a few families.
T-55/54 and its Chinese copy the Type 59 with 1-2000 still in service or storage.
T-62 and its domestic variants
Domestic T-62/T-72 hybrids
Domestic Cheonma-2
These two guides have the information needed to identify T-54, T-55 and T-62 from each other.
https://blog.vantagepointnorth.net/2021/12/quick-guide-to-identifying-russian.html
http://blog.vantagepointnorth.net/2022/08/quick-guide-to-chinese-pla-tanks.html
There are three main variants of North Korean built T-62 derivatives: the Chonma-Ho, the Pokpung-Ho and the Songun 915.
Chonma-Ho
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| Chonma-98 |
The Chonma-Ho has been produced in multiple variants, but they are all based on the venerable T-62 platform. The Suspension is exactly the same as a T-62 with five large roadwheels, whose spacing increases towards the rear.
The initial Chonma model differs from the Soviet T-62 in only minor ways, such as differently shaped tow hooks and hatches. These are very hard to identify from normal combat footage. Internally they have some more differences, mainly to fit them into North Korean industrial production.
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| Chonma |
In 1986 Chonma turret was enlarged with a rear bustle and in 1992 the new production vehicles received a domestic box shaped laser range finder placed on top of the barrel. Both of these variants are called Chonma by the KPAGF. It is unclear how much of the older fleet has received the laser rangefinder update. LRF equipped versions are commonly referred to as the Chonma-Ho II in the western literature.
Ch'ŏnma-92 is a more comprehensive upgrade, often called the Chonma-Ho III in the west. It replaces the cast rounded turret of the T-62 with a welded composite armor turret, that is much more angular than the typical soviet turret design. It usually has either ERA bricks or stand-off steel armor on the turret sides and applique armor on the turret cheeks.
Chonma-92 was also updated with a new 750hp engine and rubber side skirts. It’s rumored to have improved fire control and optics, but these are so far unconfirmed.
Chonma-98 is the next variant, only produced in very limited numbers. It has a larger turret with improved armor, while the turret's overall shape remains the same. It’s dubbed the Chonma-Ho IV in the west. The Chonma-214 is a refined serial production version of the 98. Surprisingly also called the Chonma-Ho V. It adds a new applique armor to the turret front and a rubber skirt to the frontal glacis.
“Pokpung-ho”
Western observers make a clear cut in the KPAGF tank design after the Chonma-214, calling the subsequent tanks Pokpung-ho. In the official KPAGF nomenclature they are referred as the Chonma-215 and Chonma-2016. Both of these tanks share the same hull and suspension layout that externally resembles the T-72 one. They have 6 evenly spaced roadwheels and an engine that produces 1000-1500hp.
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| Pokpung-ho aka Chonma 215 |
Their turret has an angular shape and flat sloped sides. The 215 is armed with a 115mm main gun, while the 216 boasts a 125mm main gun that is derived from the main armament of a soviet T-72.
Both “Pokpung-ho” variants have, on paper, very powerful secondary armament. They can mount a mast with twin SA-7/SA-16/Bulsae-5 short range SAMs, twin ATGM launchers and a twin manually operated automatic grenade launchers. Especially the SAMs and if fitted with ammunition with proximity fuses, the AGLs provide the Chonma-215 and 216 with increased survivability on a modern UAV infested battlefield.
Songun-915 is a further development of the Pokpung-ho. It has a large bulbous cast turret with a 125mm main gun. So far it looks like a stopgap measure to produce a more spacious 125mm armed tank, while waiting for the upcoming Cheonma-2. But it also shows, that DPRK still has the required facilities to cast tank turrets if needed.
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| Songun-915 |
Cheonma-2
The Cheonma-2 looks like a clean slate design for the KPAGF, but it does share a strong resemblance with the Iranian Zufilgar 2 tank. Its suspension departs from the familiar T-72 style layout of six roadwheels per side, by adding one more evenly spaced wheel to help carry the increased weight of the up armored tank.
The slab sided nature of the Chonma-2 turret suggests a modern composite armor. Turret also sports a meteorological mast and panoramic sights that imply a modern computerized fire control system being installed. It has a twin ATGM launched on the right side of the turret and an automatic grenade launcher by the commander's hatch.
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| Chonma 2 |
The Cheonma-2 is a modern tank that should not be underestimated in a tank fight on the Korean peninsula. It strikes a decent balance between mobility, firepower and protection for that particular theater. However, despite the propaganda from the DPRK, it's not a superweapon and not directly on par with the latest Western or South Korean tanks. The only huge advantage over the latter is the absence of K-pop in the intercom.
For the Russian war effort, the North Korean tank park offers only more of the same that they have been throwing to the wrecking fest for the past three years. Obsolete Soviet capabilities and too few modern updates.
-Petri Mäkelä
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