The North Korean KCNA news Agency reported that on May 28, 2024, the leader of the DPRK, Comrade Kim Jong-un, visited the DPRK National Defense Academy in connection with the 60th anniversary of its foundation. In a TV report from this visit, a number of already known or previously unseen modern and promising samples of weapons and military equipment of North Korean design were demonstrated at the exposition of the National Defense Academy of the DPRK.
A model of the new North Korean tank "Cheonma-2" (천마-2호), previously known by the Western designation M-2020, demonstrated during a visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the DPRK National Defense Academy, 05/28/2024 (c) a frame from a report on DPRK television
In particular, in the hall of samples of armored and artillery weapons of the Academy, Kim Jong-un was shown models of a new already well-known North Korean tank, usually appearing under the Western designation M-2020, a 155-mm self-propelled howitzer, a 76-mm naval universal artillery installation (a clone of Leonardo/Oto Melara Super Rapid), as well as previously unknown wheeled (8x8) armored vehicle with cannon armament and a 120 mm (?) self-propelled mortar gun on a tracked chassis. A new tank diesel engine and optoelectronic systems of the new tank were also demonstrated.
It was reported in the report that the new North Korean tank, previously known by the Western designation M-2020, has the official name "Cheongma-2" (천마-2호). For the first time, these tanks were shown at a military parade in Pyongyang in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea on October 10, 2020.
Among other exhibits seen at the Academy's exposition, it is worth noting 155-mm artillery shells equipped with correction modules similar to the American PGK, and planning and correction modules for aviation bombs.
Visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the DPRK National Defense Academy, 05/28/2024 (c) KCNA and footage from the DPRK television report
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