Source: KCTV Korean Tank Productionįrom the creation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea until the late 1960s, its army was equipped with Soviet and Chinese armored vehicles. These do not seem to have had any kind of upgrade from their original production version, probably in the early 1980s, although they do have new rubber pads on the tracks. North Korean early production Ch’ŏnmas on parade on Kim Il-sung Square, in P’yŏngyang, in the early 2000s. The high production costs of the upgraded Ch’ŏnmas forced the Korean People’s Army (KPA) to still maintain early production Ch’ŏnmas with small upgrades in service to this day, swelling the ranks of the KPA in case of a massive attack through the DMZ.
These upgrades led to the development of the Ch’ŏnma-92, Ch’ŏnma-98, and other later variants. Already in the early 1980s, North Korean technicians tried upgrading the tank with indigenous programs. Despite its initial superiority over South Korean tanks, with the appearance of the K1 Main Battle Tank in the late 1980s, the Ch’ŏnma became obsolete. The program fulfilled the request, and for about a decade, the DPRK deployed MBTs capable of dealing with South Korean armored fighting vehicles north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It was intended to equip its armored divisions with an indigenous tank capable of facing the US-made MBTs serving in the Republic of Korea Army in the late 1970s. Originally, the Ch’ŏnma was a licensed production version of the T-62 Soviet MBT built in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Ch’ŏnma, better known under the unofficial designation of Ch’ŏnma-Ho, is the second North Korean-produced Main Battle Tank (MBT) in service with the Korean People’s Army. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (1978-Present)
0 kommentar(er)
