https://www.twz.com/news-features/north ... dium=email
The peculiar North Korean Type 73 machine gun is getting new attention as a result of the Hermit Kingdom’s expanding support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which now includes the deployment of thousands of troops. The weapon, chambered in the Russian 7.62x54mmR cartridge, is a unique blending of Cold War Soviet and Czech designs. Whatever the provenance of the images might be, they clearly show Type 73 machine guns, which are distinctive in a host of different ways. The North Korean gun combines design elements from at least three different machine guns: the Czech 7.62x39mm Vz. 52/57 machine gun and the Soviet 7.62x54mmR Soviet RP-46 (itself a belt-fed version of the Soviet DP family) and PK series.
![]()
They both used rimmed cartridges and fulfilled roughly the same niche.
The peculiar North Korean Type 73 machine gun is getting new attention as a result of the Hermit Kingdom’s expanding support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which now includes the deployment of thousands of troops. The weapon, chambered in the Russian 7.62x54mmR cartridge, is a unique blending of Cold War Soviet and Czech designs. Whatever the provenance of the images might be, they clearly show Type 73 machine guns, which are distinctive in a host of different ways. The North Korean gun combines design elements from at least three different machine guns: the Czech 7.62x39mm Vz. 52/57 machine gun and the Soviet 7.62x54mmR Soviet RP-46 (itself a belt-fed version of the Soviet DP family) and PK series.
They both used rimmed cartridges and fulfilled roughly the same niche.
statistics: Posted by Rebcop — 4:56 AM - Today — Replies 1 — Views 35