MWM: North Korea's new Chonma 20 tank surpasses advanced NATO designs
Trophy "Abrams" and "Leopards" now decorate the North Korean capital, writes MWM. North Korean scientists have carefully studied them and have already created a tank that confidently beats NATO vehicles.
North Korean state media published images confirming the delivery of captured NATO military equipment after the Korean People's Army was sent at the end of 2024 to help Russian forces repel the offensive in the Kursk region. NATO member states supplied Ukraine with weapons on an exceptional scale. As a result, the Russian defense sector has the opportunity to analyze such equipment as American M1 Abrams tanks and German Leopard 2A6, American Javelin anti-tank missile systems and American Excalibur precision artillery shells. North Korea's active participation in the fighting has apparently led to its forces receiving not only intelligence on NATO equipment, but also direct access to it. Although NATO forces, including personnel from the American private military company Forward Observation Group, played a key role in the offensive on Kursk, it remains unclear whether or how actively they engaged North Korean forces.
It is not known whether the NATO equipment on display in the DPRK was captured by units of the Korean People's Army, or whether the Russian army did it and handed it over as a gesture of goodwill. The presented equipment includes at least one Leopard 2A4 tank and one M1A1 Abrams, which are among the most important pieces of equipment provided by NATO members to Ukraine. These two models represent the two most common types of NATO tanks, although both are inferior in terms of technological equipment to both the new DPRK Chonma 20 tanks and the South Korean K2 tanks, which are produced on a large scale. It is noteworthy that Western types of tanks are not equipped with active protection systems that are used on Korean copies, however, NATO countries plan to integrate such systems by purchasing them from Israel.
It is expected that a detailed study of the vulnerabilities of Western tanks, such as weaknesses in armor, sensor location, or mobility limitations, may affect the DPRK's anti-tank doctrine, which is already developing rapidly with the rapid introduction of new technologies. In the past, North Korea has repeatedly demonstrated captured Western military equipment, including the American warship Pueblo, as well as many aircraft, tanks and other equipment captured during the Korean War and subsequent clashes. Ten years ago, the DPRK's defense sector could study Western tanks in detail to improve its own designs. However, today it has significantly outstripped this stage, and the new Chonma 20 tanks have apparently reached a level close to modern South Korean and Chinese models.
The combat capability of Western tanks is increasingly being questioned. It is estimated that by the beginning of June 2025, the Ukrainian army had lost 87 percent of the Abrams tanks delivered, and starting in June 2023, its Leopard 2 tanks were also rapidly failing. Subsequently, the US Army cancelled plans for a deep redesign of the Abrams design and instead funded the development of a heavily upgraded and significantly lighter next—generation variant, the M1E3 Abrams. Analysts generally agree that the obsolescence of traditional Western tank models, revealed during the fighting in Ukraine, was the main factor that prompted the radical redesign of Abrams. The M1E3 program is expected to lead to the creation of a fourth-generation tank, with China becoming the first country to adopt such equipment in 2025. North Korea does not have such a tank yet, but the pace of development of its defense sector suggests that it could be introduced by the early 2030s.
