North Korea Kim Jong Un Unveils, ‘Drives’ New Main Battle Tank
Defense News ,North Korea :- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un recently joined his troops in training to use newly developed battle tanks, according to state media reports on Thursday.
This training comes as a response to the annual 11-day military drills between South Korea and the United States, which are set to conclude soon. North Korea sees these drills as practice for a potential invasion.
During Wednesday's training, the focus was on evaluating the combat abilities of tank operators, using the new main battle tank that Kim referred to as "the world’s most powerful," as reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The training involved heavy tanks maneuvering through simulated combat scenarios and firing at targets. Kim himself even took the wheel of one of the new tanks, boosting the morale of the tank crews, according to KCNA.
Earlier, North Korea's Defense Ministry promised to conduct "responsible military activities" in response to the ongoing joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. Kim also supervised artillery firing drills.
The South Korean-U.S. exercises include computer-simulated command post training and 48 different field exercises, twice the number from last year.
Since early 2022, North Korea has been increasing its weapons testing activities to upgrade its nuclear and missile capabilities. In response, the U.S. and South Korea have expanded their training exercises, including a trilateral drill involving Japan.
Analysts are scrutinizing the available photos and videos released by North Korean state media to glean some clues about the tank's capabilities. Here's what they have been able to determine so far:
- The tank appears to be a new design, not an upgrade of an existing North Korean tank.
- The tank has a large main gun, which could be 125mm or 130mm caliber.
- The tank appears to have a new fire control system and possibly an autoloader.
- The tank has additional armor on the turret, which may be designed to defend against anti-tank missiles.
Overall, it is too early to say definitively what the capabilities of the new North Korean tank are. More information will be needed to assess its true threat level.
