Armed Forces of North Korea

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In the DPRK, the military received 30 sets of giant MLRS with a caliber of 600mm, which can also be used to launch tactical nuclear missiles. There are no technical details of the settings. It is known that MLRS data missiles have a high ability to bend around the terrain, as well as maneuverability and high speed. On January 1, 2023, the North Korean military performed a training launch from a single installation. The projectile covered 350 kilometers with a maximum flight altitude of 100 kilometers and hit a given area of the Sea of Japan east of the Korean Peninsula. In the DPRK, there are two more variants of the 600mm MLRS on an 8 = 8 wheeled chassis.

 

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In the capital of the DPRK, Pyongyang, on February 8, a night military parade was held in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. The parade, along with his wife and daughter, was hosted by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The parade is not particularly different from all past parades, except that a record number of military personnel took part in it and an unknown new DPRK tank was again shown. This tank has been noticed at parades for more than a year, but so far nothing is known about it. The tank does not even have a name, it is called differently, the M-2020 tank, the Storm tank. Visually, the M2020 tank is similar to the American M1 Abrams tank and the Russian T-14 Armata. The tank has enhanced armor in the lateral projection and on the sides. The gun of the tank is a 125-mm Russian 2A46 cannon, the tank has a machine gun coaxial with the gun and an AGS-30 grenade launcher. The tank has two Bulsae-3 ATGMs, it is believed that it was developed on the basis of the Russian Fagot and Kornet ATGMs. For the first time on the tanks of the DPRK, an active protection system for tanks was installed, it can be seen at the base of the tank turret, visually the complex resembles the Russian Afghanit system installed on the T-14 Armata tank, sensors of possible active protection systems are located in the front corners of the tower. Panoramic sights are located on the roof of the turret, it is possible that the tank has a thermal imager. It is not excluded that many systems are still props. It is assumed that the M2020 tank is equipped with an engine with a capacity of 1200 horsepower, the estimated mass of the tank is about 55 tons. There are suggestions that the tank was created using the technology of Russia and China.

 

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The North Korean army for the first time showed footage of launches of strategic cruise missiles of the Hwasal-1 and Hwasal-2 types. The cruise missiles were equipped with a "test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead" and flew between 1,500 and 1,800 km. The launch of cruise missiles was a response to the US and South Korean military exercises Freedom Shield 23, which we talked about earlier. The North Korean exercise tested the reliability of control devices and detonators in a mid-air explosion and demonstrated yet another military strike capability. Two Hwasal-1 and Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles launched in South Hamgyong Province accurately hit a target in the Sea of Japan.

 

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North Korea has shown a nuclear underwater drone Haiel. The DPRK for the first time showed at the military parade, which was held in Pyongyang on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, the Haiel-1 nuclear submarine drone. Earlier it was reported that North Korea tested "Haiel-1", the device was underwater for more than 40 hours. At the parade, four underwater drones were transported on tractors. Underwater drones "Haiel-1" have a length of at least 10 meters and a diameter of about 1.5 meters, underwater drones are painted in orange and black colors, as prototypes of nuclear weapons are usually marked. Apparently the drone "Haiel-1" is an analogue of the Russian nuclear super torpedoes "Poseidon"

 

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On September 6, North Korea launched the first missile submarine, Hero Kim Gun Ok, fully equipped with tactical nuclear weapons. Currently, the new submarine is preparing to go to sea for a test voyage, technical details have not been reported. Presumably, the submarine was created on the basis of analogues of the Chinese diesel-electric torpedo submarines of Project 033, previously built in the DPRK, this is a licensed copy of the submarines of the Soviet Project 633. The submarine has a two-shaft design similar to the submarines of Project 633. The submarine is equipped with a missile compartment with ten missiles silos for nuclear ballistic missiles. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that the country has made significant progress in the development of the shipbuilding industry. All commanders of the submarine vowed to glorify the DPRK Navy.

 

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MLRS disguised as civilian equipment are shown in the DPRK. A large-scale military parade in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK was held in Pyongyang on September 9. This is the third large-scale parade in the country since the beginning of 2023. The parade itself is unremarkable, except for the fact that it showed MLRS disguised as civilian equipment. At the parade, MLRS were demonstrated mounted in the bodies of civilian vehicles, on trolley-trailers for tractors and in dump trucks, and in dump trucks, there were even bags of cement for camouflage.

 

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During his visit to Russia, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un showed increased interest in all Russian military equipment. Kim Jong-un inspected the frigate of the Pacific Fleet "Marshal Shaposhnikov" of project 1155, visited Russian aircraft factories in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, viewed Russian fighters Su-34, Su-30SM, Su-35S, attack aircraft Su-25SM3 and MiG-31I with hypersonic missile "Dagger". Kim Jong-un showed particular interest in Russian strategic aviation; he examined in detail the strategic bombers Tu-160, Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3. The DPRK leader was interested in the characteristics of strategic aircraft, their weapons and combat capabilities. Details in the video.

 

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On Monday, December 18, the DPRK carried out a training launch of the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile. Kim Jong-un watched the rocket launch process along with his daughter. In just over an hour, the ICBM covered 1,002 kilometers, rising to a peak altitude of 6,518 kilometers. At the end of the flight, the missile successfully hit a conditional target in the Sea of Japan. When launched along a normal trajectory, optimal for flight range, at an angle of 30-45 degrees, the DPRK intercontinental missile could fly up to 15 thousand km. Exercises to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles were carried out to test the combat readiness of the republic’s nuclear war deterrent forces and confirm their mobility

 

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Live firing of giant 600mm KN-25 multiple launch rocket systems took place in North Korea. According to the Western classification, MLRS are designated KN-25. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the shooting exercise. It was recently reported that these MLRS will be delivered to Russia, but so far there are no facts confirming this. The KN-25 can be conditionally called MLRS, since these missiles already belong to the class of operational-tactical missiles. The mass of the missiles is estimated at three tons, and their length exceeds eight meters. The MLRS are mounted on a modified TATRA T815 chassis and have an armored cabin. The estimated firing range of the KN-25 MLRS is about 400 kilometers; during the exercises, firing was carried out at a range of 347 kilometers.

 

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On April 2, North Korea launched a new medium-range ballistic missile, the Hwasong-16B. Traditionally, the launch was personally led by Kim Jong-un. The Hwasong-16B missile is equipped with a newly developed hypersonic glide warhead. North Korea said it has fully denuclearized its missiles and armed its hypersonic missiles with nuclear warheads. The Hwasong-16B solid-propellant missile flew about 1000 km reaching a maximum altitude of 101.1 km, hitting a conditional target in the waters of the Korean East Sea. South Korean authorities said they estimated the total distance traveled by the missile to be about 600 km. The estimated flight range of the Hwasong-16B missiles is up to 5,500 kilometers