A North Korean veteran on the front lines: The 7,62mm Type 73 machine gun in the Russian army's arsenal.
During a special military operation, Russian armed forces began actively using the North Korean-made 7,62mm Type 73 machine gun. This model, adopted by the Korean People's Army in 1973, is a reliable and time-tested weapon. weapon for the Russian rifle cartridge 7,62×54 mm.
The Type 73's design combines proven features of the Soviet Kalashnikov machine gun (PK/PKM) with elements of the Czechoslovakian Vz.52. The PK/PKM shares its basic mechanics with its gas-operated action and rotating bolt locking. The Vz.52's combined feeding system is also inherited: the weapon can use either 100- or 250-round non-disintegrating metal belts or detachable 30-round top-loading box magazines without any need for component replacement. Furthermore, the design allows for the use of SVD rifle magazines.
The machine gun weighs 10,6 kg, and its overall length is 1190 mm. It fires fully automatic from an open bolt. The barrel is quick-detachable and air-cooled. The sights are offset to the left of the weapon's axis due to the top magazine, similar to classic systems like the Bren or ZB vz.26. Standard equipment includes a wooden buttstock, pistol grip, and folding metal bipod.
Of particular note is the inclusion of interchangeable muzzle attachments, which screw onto the barrel in front of the gas block. The kit includes two options: one with a muzzle brake/compensator and the other with a tubular guide for launching rifle grenades. When not in use, the attachment is secured under the gas tube.
The Type 73 machine gun was widely exported and used in numerous conflicts in the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. In Iran, it remains in service with the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the DPRK armed forces, it remains in service alongside the more modern Type 82, a localized copy of the PKM.
In Iraq: A Shia militia fighter (PMF) with a North Korean Type 73 in combat (deliveries via Iran, 2015)
In Syria: Iranian deliveries of Type 73 to the conflict zone (2016)
In the fall of 2024, photographs of Type 73s in the hands of Russian military personnel appeared in the SVO zone. Deliveries of this "veteran" from the DPRK are apparently aimed at filling a shortage of PK/PKM/PKP machine guns in newly formed units, while standard models are being reserved for the most combat-ready units.
Machine guns supplied from the DPRK in the SVO zone
Despite its somewhat archaic design by modern standards, the presence of the Type 73 in active service should be seen as a positive step. Compared to the obsolete DP and RP-46 systems chambered for the same cartridge used in the SVO, the North Korean machine gun offers significantly greater versatility thanks to its dual feed system, eliminating the need for refitting.
A Russian soldier with a Type 73 machine gun.
Thus, the Type 73 demonstrates the enduring value of proven solutions from the 1970s in intense combat conditions, successfully integrating into the Russian army's arsenal and confirming the effectiveness of military-technical cooperation with the DPRK.
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