North Korean Type 73: A PK That Uses Both Mags and Belts

[@JohnRedacted]

I think this pretty easily settles the PKM vs FN MAG debate , neither one can launch rifle grenades , Type 73 reigns supreme

[@sashimanu]

But no bayonet lug--?

[@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401]

British Belgian FN MAG, Russian Soviet PKM, American FN Minimi SAW

[@JMiskovsky]

@@sashimanu That is obviously missing feature:D

[@509Gman]

PKM wins simply on weight. MAG is fantastically accurate for an open bolt system, but I speak from experience when I say it sucks to carry up and down mountains.

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@509Gman crud, an M60E3 sucks to carry up and down ladders!

[@wingshad0w00982]

It’s just so very Ian that he goes to the French ballistic reference armory and the first thing he pulls out is a North Korean machine gun

[@khaelamensha3624]

As a French I should not have to remember you the saying : we do nothing like the others, and the others do nothing like us😇 Regards from France 😉🇨🇵

[@thelegendaryklobb2879]

Just like when he filmed a video on a Gerat 06-H in Malta, totally unexpected

[@jean-pascalesparceil9008]

We can count on Ian making more trips to this "collection" of firearms, there are about 12 000 different weapons and 700 000 cartridges: kzbin.info/www/bejne/omK3m3SjpN2NsJo You can see that the shoulder insignia of these CSI bears a 1921 Thompson and a .45 auto case.

[@khaelamensha3624]

@@jean-pascalesparceil9008 Merci pour le lien 🙏👍 Boyz! This place is an infinite supply of weapons for Ian! We gonna have so many videos!

[@77gravity]

This is because he has a better collection of French firearms than they do. They visit HIM.

[@Ezekiel_Allium]

Finally; true Kalashnibren Edit: the amount of clever little functional details crammed into the muzzle area of this gun is so cool, that won me over on this thing considerably

[@Ghfvhvfg]

The non jank version

[@cucuawe465]

Obviously the designer snort a high quality stuff not a cheap meth or a hookah

[@rkadi6540]

​@@Ghfvhvfgmore like the SFW version

[@ContentsMayDiffer]

That stock is something else. It looks like something drawn by someone who is really good at straight lines, but unable to construct curves.

[@fustigate314159]

It's pretty rough, isn't it?

[@obsidianjane4413]

It is shaped like that to hold the brushes and oil bottle in the compartment Ian couldn't get open (and probably hasn't been opened since leaving the factory). It does look like it was whittled with a dull knife though.

[@mateuszs6770]

Can't wait to see North Korean AK with helical magazine. If someone on youtube actually does that, it'll be Ian.

[@Ironman1o1]

Isn't that just a Bizon?

[@JessZomb]

@@Ironman1o1 Not exactly. The Bizon is a purpose built submachinegun with a helical magazine. The Aks that the NK soldiers lug around have this magazines... hang off the barrel a bit and probably don't work.

[@fnym9rdsavsffdik9a25]

@@JessZomb the magazines that i have seen tend to have a tiny ropes hanging arround them to keep them on the gun

[@theme7363]

@@Ironman1o1 except it’s full size 5.45. it looks awesome and also terrifying and also like it jams like pb&j

[@theme7363]

@@Ironman1o1 and it looks like it’s just. a mag they slap into regular AKs

[@alancranford3398]

I appreciated the ability of the American M249 to use M16 magazines because sometimes my unit didn't get belted ammo. One familiarization range my assistant instructor and I could only draw loose cartridges, no belts--the four guns I used to train the battalion with fired 3000 or so rounds from M16 magazines without a malfunction on the range. I was surprised.

[@notimportant768]

As long as the magazines are in good condition that's fairly doable. Longer they wear the less reliable it gets and thats allegedly where the magazine feed not working comes from. Take it with a grain of salt though my friend never saw combat and those are words from his friend who had to worry about that.

[@IvanIvanoff-d4p]

Most people who say “why not just use belt” don’t understand a lick of logistical restrictions

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

The mutant child of a Mars pistol, a PK and a vz 52/57 Many clever features, horrible finish. Cool. Wonder how well it works.

[@lunchpin403]

I think the finish adds character

[@murdmart]

In all intents and purposes it is a PK. So, unless ammo or timing is suspect, it probably shoots when you pull a trigger. I still think that RPK would have been a better option :P

[@KrisHandsome]

Apparently North Korean guns work fairly well based on accounts of ones used in Vietnam. The finish might have something to do with how this one was found. The ones that make it to the west tend to be old and heavily used.

[@krisskringle920]

looks more like an incest baby between a bren and a PK than anything else in my opinion

[@Reddsoldier]

It reminds me a lot of Japanese machine guns, probably because they're both drawing from Czech concepts whilst using existing technologies as a base. The stock especially screams "Modern Type 99" too.

[@Markworth]

It's not perfect by a long shot, and that's why it's no longer in use, but you can certainly see why they tried. This is a really clever design.

[@andrewweitzman4006]

It's one of those "it was clever because they could, but there were shaky reasons why they should." If you want a small assault "magazine", just make a little 50 round drum or casket for belted ammo to lock on the PKM ammo box bracket.

[@gr33nsk1n]

And now they're being used in the Ukraine War !

[@FJStefanelli]

Shoots mags, belts, rifle grenades, have a bayonet socket (7:16). Fit shoots from a close bolt and put a scope, the N Korean had de ultimate squad weapon: LMG, assalt weapon and DMR. (It´s joke).

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

Johnny Seven OMA -- kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnjLipWdaLCJq5I (Was so pissed that my parents wouldn't buy me one).

[@PassiveDestroyer]

@@JohnHughesChampigny That would have been awesome growing up in the 90's. It's got all the guns in one! It's bullets fire the whole bullet- that's 40% more bullet per bullet!

[@thelegendaryklobb2879]

Does it fire bayonets?

[@FJStefanelli]

@@thelegendaryklobb2879 maybe that knife with hollow tangs...

[@Burningice7734]

I must say the North Koreans aren't stupid when it comes to firearms design I have a Vietnam Viet bring back North Korean SKS and it is one of the few SKS's besides the Russian and Chinese that actually uses a folding knife and not a spike folding bayonet. The Type 73 is also a fairly good looking design of course but by modern standards outdated a M240 with a 50 round pouch would do the same as that box magazine without out the added weight.

[@NarcassiticGamer]

Apparently the M240 is still heavier, I guess being based off a PK Machine Gun allowed it to have all that extra stuff bolted onto it without making it absurdly heavy, don't even want to think of how expensive to manufacture they are though.

[@onlyhereformoney175]

​@@NarcassiticGamerthe fluting would really be the most expensive part of it, maybe the muzzle brake thing

[@quakethedoombringer]

⁠@@NarcassiticGamerIsn't the Fn Mag/M240 quirk is that it's fairly reliable and relatively inexpensive to manufacture?

[@DeliberateNRandom]

Ian: "How much to rent this apartment?" "Sir, this is a ballistics laboratory!"

[@Chezeehat]

Ian: "Yes."

[@thelegendaryklobb2879]

"Yeah, you heard me"

[@somejoeschmo6255]

The bullet hole in the wall is proof... Lol...

[@khaelamensha3624]

As a French citizen, having made my tour of duty, I did not have a thousandth of the power to enter la Gendarmerie Nationale buildings compared to Gun Jesus 😂 Even not one millionth 🤣 Nice gun! Not every day we see a North Korean weapon! Soon we will learn that Ian has been invited by the great leader to present and test half the weapons of North Korea😇😁

[@zendell37]

The great leader would if he believed his own propaganda.

[@AshleyPomeroy]

"I'm Ian McCollum, and welcome to Great Glorious Weapons of the Unstoppable Genius of Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un Weapons", and then he would review a 20mm anti-aircraft gun.

[@bigboi7817]

dude he would. he hangs out with basketball players. Why wouldnt he want to hang out with Ian?

[@ianfurqueron5850]

This video and access to the reference collection also a very good example of why Ian strives to be as politically-agnostic with his online presence as possible.

[@sammitra]

Everyone acknowledges gun jesus

[@geodkyt]

Neat. I've long wanted to see the guts. The North Korean bolt group is interesting - I think the totally separate belt withdrawal hooks seem to be a good idea, making it easier to fix tension problems without having to deadline the gun and send it back to an actual armorer. You could just issue every gunner a spare hook in their spares tin. OTOH, I'm not sure about some of the simplified cuts. That squared off cut, for instance - I wonder what the failure rate of that part at that location, versus the Soviet rounded cut.

[@azimisyauqieabdulwahab9401]

Its a North Korean Bren or ZB 26 or PKM LMG

[@Operator8282]

Methinks that the EVERYTHING ELSE will fail before that bolt carrier. Several times. Sure, Square cuts invite stress cracking, but that portion of the bolt group looked to just be mass to keep things from banging rearward too much.

[@andreww2098]

they probably had problems with the heat treating of the feed claws, so they made it field replaceable to keep the gun in field when it broke during use

[@Kr0noZ]

@@andreww2098 which is smart and the soviets probably should have done the same. No heat treat procedure is 100% perfect and if a bad part sends the gun to the armory instead of doing a 2 minute swap-job there's room for improvement.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

@@andreww2098 That can't be the case because they can make normal PKs with the original claw design. What I think is happening is that the claws break more often because they are subjected to more resistance when pulling a round from a mag due to the friction from the mag's spring tension. Plus the claws might occasionally have to fight rimlock in the mag. You get neither from a Maxim belt.

[@rooster6461]

“Dear leader, what capabilities would you like the new LMG to have?” “Yes”

[@JMiskovsky]

Sould it be belt fed or magazine fed? Yes

[@rooster6461]

@@JMiskovsky “should it have a muzzle break or a rifle grenade spigot?” “Yes”

[@jasonarcher7268]

That's a pretty good idea. As a 240 gunner, the belly bag and starter belt were pretty heavy. Especially awkward when you try bounding and moving on an objective. However, only if it actually works. The SAW doesn't like to feed from a box mag, without modifying the magazine first.

[@SamHero_]

That's JUST the reason North Koreans made type 73 fitted for 30 round mags. In fact, machinegunners are required to load the 30-round magazine when marching, moving and guarding, and may determine to change to the second magazine or belt depending on the following situation.

[@knightofastora1324]

Really cool to see guns this rare on the channel, forgotten weapons never disappoints

[@thegentlemenrat3727]

Kim must have an awesome gun collection honestly

[@sya_7489]

Im just over here imagining an American equivalent... Oh god imagine an M60 with a 20 round magazine sticking out of it somewhere... just think of the jams...

[@ForgottenWeapons]

It's the M249 SAW...

[@jfakoggl]

I would have been immensely impressed, if you had started this video of that North Korean Type 73 LMG with the words: *I'm here at the development and test site of the Great Leader just outside of Pyongyang.....* ;o)

[@andrewsuryali8540]

And then Kim pops up behind him and says, "Don't forget to mention that grandpa was a gun guy. Oh, dad too!"

[@ianfurqueron5850]

That would be the Sat shooting video.

[@nicholasstilley2370]

I've always wanted to see a closer look at one of these

[@krissteel4074]

Same, I've seen pics and read about them but first time I've seen it in any detail down to the nuts and guts. Its interesting to see the somewhat massive, crude construction compared to say, the purposeful, clever design of the Czech weapons or the lean, highly refined aspects of the Soviet era machineguns.

[@PantherCat64]

You know, I've been trying to design essentially realistic future North Korean firearms for a project. My research has been uh... Well I doubt it's it's going to be accurate, but it might thought to be believable on the surface level to non-gun nerds. I've mostly been looking for the patterns the country seems to follow, I know there is one but I don't have the specifics yet. This helped out a bit. Thanks Ian.

[@lobsterbark]

I'm sure you have already realized this from your research, but you have a lot of room to work right because the country is developing fairly fast. They seem to have reached the tipping point where they aren't reliant on imports for most technologies. So the best future has a lot of potential for fresh, native designed stuff.

[@dreamingflurry2729]

Hm...I'd like to know how French police gets a hold of a North-Korean gun! Hell, a pistol I'd get...but an LMG? I'd truly like to hear that story! Great vid, Ian, great vid :)

[@maximevincent4572]

It's Gendarmerie, it's the military police not the civilian police, they are part of the army. Still i have no idea where they found a north korean weapon.

[@dreamingflurry2729]

@@maximevincent4572 MPs are still police - they just don't arrest peeps who aren't wearing uniforms (unless you are found entering military areas without permission) ;) - Yeah, still Frenchies having these is still strange!

[@greycatturtle7132]

Ye

[@zXPeterz14]

Probably a trophy weapon confiscated from a soldier in mali or Afghanistan

[@elijahaitaok8624]

Quite likely from border skirmishes with South Korea

[@albertobernal2537]

Wow, Ian sure does travel a lot lately! Great content. I'm finally understanding automatic feeding systems, a far cry from the bolt/receiverless type that I use to draw when I was a teenager back in the 90s with no access to internet sources, live gear or encyclopedia. His video library is worth watching multiple times! Just awesome.

[@spiritof78]

Every Best Korea weapon are two purpose. The type 73 functions as both an anti infantry weapon and boat oar.

[@darthmartinez]

Its always cool to see a North Korean Gun. I once bid on a North Korean SKS that had the Grenade launcher hardware but sadly I didn't win.

[@ReidMerrill]

Guns that can use both feeding methods are always so cool. It's strange they haven't been more successful.

[@pirig-gal]

Mechanical complexity and logistics?

[@LiamNajor]

look at how big it is

[@bannedbycommieyoutube5time920]

@@LiamNajor that’s what she said.

[@rhubarbpie2027]

The M249 SAW was/ is capable of using USGI M4/M16 mags but it's my (vague) understanding that feeding from mags was... problematic.

[@_sp1r4L_]

@@rhubarbpie2027 The IMI (or IWI) Negev does better with mags.

[@theronraam23]

I always wondered why the North Koreans on the DVD case for "The Interview" looked to be holding Brens. Now I know why, cool!

[@tuganerf]

Using the bolt to hold the belt feed claws is a very smart design feature. I imagine if eventually the claw suffers wear and tear and starts miss feeding. Maintenence is much simpler on the Popular Korean one

[@VeritasPanther]

Gotta wonders in what situations you'd need your base or fire to switch over from automatic fire to firing rifle grenades and how long / easy it is to switch between the modes.

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

set gas plug to zero, take off flash hider, remove belt or magazine, flip up grenade sight, single feed blank cartridge (or load magazine of blanks?) push grenade on spigot, point, fire. Reverse whole procedure to get back to DAKKA mode.

[@marvindebot3264]

As John says and that lot should take you about 20 seconds if you have been keeping your gas block clean.

[@gingergorilla695]

You might use it for squad support, since, while AKs technically have rifle grenade capability, it is almost never used. But with this already being used as a support weapon, the designers may have thought to give the machine gun suppressive fire as well as explosive support. Just a guess, it could have just as easily been one of the Kim's saying they wanted it for the lulz.

[@Tunkkis]

@@gingergorilla695 I'm not aware of AKs, outside of the Yugoslavians and some polish variants, having rifle grenade capabilities.

[@VanderNugget]

I’m guessing it makes most sense if you have a squad of conscripts and the LMG gunner is the most trusted soldier already under direct control of the squad leader. N Koreans aren’t going to have many rifle grenades for the whole squad so they won’t want to waste them.

[@revolverDOOMGUY]

The fact that North Korea used to produce the RP 47 kinda puts everything into prospective. Koreans probably wanted to continue having those small advantages that came with that platform, but in a better form.

[@TheObso1337]

In terms of the belt feed claw. I reckon the North Koreans went to a simpler method of attaching it to the carrier specifically so that it could be replaced in the field. Getting the heat treatment on that part right is probably a challenge and it's a component that would likely get frequent parts breakage (or just enough wear to cause persistent malfunctions). Simple cheap fix is to make the part easy to swap in the field and treat it as a wear item.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

I don't think they had a problem with the heat treatment given that their NORMAL PK family guns are built exactly like Soviet PKs. My personal guess is that the claws are subjected to very different stresses when used with a mag, resulting in more parts breakage, and the Noko troops carrying this weapon are probably more likely to use it in mag mode.

[@LAV-III]

Never would I think to see an LMG that utilizes rifle grenades.

[@axelkusanagi4139]

One of the benefits of having it be mag-fed as well. You could load it with rifle-grenade blanks, disconnect the belt and slap a mag in there and fire up to thirty grenades before resuming direct fire

[@nematic529]

5:14 you actually mixed up words here. 안전 is safe while 사격 is fire

[@dillonc7955]

It's crazy how Czech LMG design was so good, that it made it all the way to North Korea.

[@someweirdguyew9757]

@@nickaschenbecker9882 That's why Parker and Stone made his character in Team America basically Cartman. They knew he was a film buff and would probably watch the movie.

[@sanguinemoon9201]

Czech made some of the best LMG's ever. It is no surprise. Even in this day of Glocks, I still carry a CZ. It is reliable, comfortable, and durable.

[@LOL60345]

north koreans even used captured german weapons, you can often spot k98s in their movies portraying the korean war.

[@Rendo86]

@@Stevie-J yes he was made to direct a Kaiju film called Pulgasari

[@thecommunistloli1042]

@du20💞 oh come fucking on why the fucking fucked fuck does a chanel like forgotten weapons gets fucking spam from a fucking bot? Why? Why the fucking fuck?

[@michaelblacktree]

Wow, that has to be the most eclectic LMG ever. This is what happens when a dictator looks at his gun designer and says "make it do all the things!"

[@ramiel01]

It's amazing what you can achieve under the influence of a sword of Damocles and meth

[@kizzmequik70four]

If the alternative is potentially death by anti-aircraft gun firing squad, you make things do all the things if your Dear Leader tells you to make things do all the things.

[@pkake1319]

Exactly what I was thinking. It's hilariously complicated, great that it's multifunctional but could you imagine trying to remove the brake and swap ammo to use a rifle grenade?

[@marissafortunato7557]

Lol

[@红杏出墙-c7g]

You wouldn't say that if you knew about the Korean-designed K11 rifle.

[@ArcticNemo]

One has to appreciate that the NK bolt group has zero wear... Shows how much ammo they actually have to practice with.

[@tommythechoochoo3502]

I honestly like what the North Koreans did with the bolt. It's easier to manufacture and easier to replace parts that might break, such as that extracter claw for the belt feed

[@irisanuwu6113]

what a fascinating and feature-rich gun. i really enjoy the whole vibe of pretty ingenious ideas jammed into a old-school shell like the rpk.

[@machina_spirit]

Man I’m always fascinated by Ians logistics in these kind of videos. Mans just happened to have a spare legit russian PK bolt carrier group on hand to compare to the version in a rare North Korean gun lol. Amazing content as always, allowing us to see those difference side by side!

[@chaothicday]

double stack single feed 7.62r mag sounds like complete rimlock hell

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

Since it pulls the cartridge out to the rear maybe it would have less problems with rimlock?

[@RustedCroaker]

@@ac1dP1nk Not if you use your gun upside-down.

[@alijankhan3330]

This was the number one thing I thought when I saw this video, "weren't rimmed 7.62 × 54r rounds supposed to be problematic in high cap mags?" IIRC that's why the Dragunov mag was capped at 10.

[@michaelathens953]

That really is a pretty cool hybrid sort of *kalashnibren" thing.

[@pannenkoekspek]

You just thought of the perfect name for this thing. "Kalashnibren" is a great name for this beast

[@luckygunnerx30]

They really put alot of thought into this. Its pretty impressive

[@italianduded1161]

Uuuuh nice, finally an explanation about this lmg, I’ve been always interested in it.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

That barrel with its fluting and muzzle brake has a real great STAR WARS-y feel, I love it...

[@Swindle1984]

The Type 73 was supposedly replaced in North Korean service, but it still shows up in photos of Nork military exercises on a regular basis. And literally the only photo I've ever seen of it with a belt instead of a magazine is one from Syria, where it was also mounted on a tripod, something else I've never seen in Nork service.

[@blackore64]

Yeah, If you look at pictures of North Korean troops, it's always this one that shows up, not the later Type 82. And sure, those may be reservists in old pictures, but that's awfully common for supposedly replaced weapon (especially when the other soldiers are armed with AK-74).

[@cojjiri8720]

North Korea has huge reserves and also the worker peasant army which is 8 million strong so they need slot of guns is probably out of service with the main KPA.

[@allancastellon9248]

I don't think the DPRK can really afford to completely phase out surplus unless it actively loses them money tbh

[@xgford94]

11:52 I remember Ian showing us a JMB prototype Winchester leaver gun with a “Pullout” mag too

[@justin764]

Interestingly, these have been showing up in Africa and the Middle East. Back in the Cold War, North Korea used to send military advisors and aid to third world countries.

[@andrewsuryali8540]

I'm pretty sure they still do that. It's just that unlike back in the early CW when China needed every bit of military equipment they could get their hands on, nowadays China can outproduce them a million to one, so unless you're such a shithole not even China wants to deal with you, nobody needs to work with NK now.

[@rzerizrz]

i wonder how anyone got these, if they were rarely exported...

[@misenplace8442]

I find it quite intriguing to see a fluted barrel on such a unit.

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

Yeah, they were too lazy to do the lightening cuts on the inside, but decided the barrel was too heavy.

[@JohnHughesChampigny]

@@8wayz2shine I very much doubt that North Korea cares about "patent infringement".

[@michaelblacktree]

I thought the fluting on the barrel was ironic, considering all the unnecessary weight added to the weapon. I'm willing to bet "dear leader" had a wish list, and the gun designer didn't want to disappear in the middle of the night.

[@Bacteriophagebs]

I suspect the fluted barrel is intended to improve cooling rather than reduce weight. Since accuracy isn't that big a concern on an LMG, there would be little reason not to just use a thinner barrel to save weight, but fluted barrels theoretically cool faster due to greater surface area. The use of flutes to save weight is for getting the stiffness of a heavier barrel without as much weight, which is only a concern with very accurate guns.

[@gingergorilla695]

The early PK's before the PKM modernization had those same flutes on the barrel

[@MandoWookie]

The rifle grenade launching feature almost makes sense, especially considering that the rest of the squad will be using 5.45 in their weapons, so if you want more power to extend the range you are launching it, use the only gun that uses full power rifle ammunition. But that brings into question the practicality of using the grenades in the first place, instead of a dedicated launcher if you are going to be limited to only one or 2 guns in the squad anyway.

[@ScottKenny1978]

Or giving the rifle grenades to the DMR, who has a Dragunov or equivalent?

[@F1ghteR41]

@@ScottKenny1978 From what I've heard rifle grenades aren't good for the accuracy. Besides, I'm not sure if DPRK really makes SVDs of any sort.

[@blackore64]

If the parade weapons are to be believed, they also seem to have dedicated Grenade-launching AKs, similar to Polish and Hungarian ones. Still, it is a weird feature to include on a weapon that's supposed to be a GPMG.

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@F1ghteR41 I was actually expecting them to make a PSL clone, which is just an AK in x54R. But saying Dragunov gets the point across.

[@johnmcclain3887]

Thanks Ian, for a rather interesting, never seen before iteration of Korean firearms. I'm a retired Marine, a good bit of time in the middle east, and experience with "oddball guns", but never seen this before, and enjoyed the full presentation, the depth seldom seen or needed, but very complete, an incredibly intricate design that appears to be quite functional, as opposed to some others. I got to see a fair number of "full service weapons", but this one is more than "sorta out there". I've worked with RP's to some degree, and enjoy the cross-connection that is clear and obvious, very well presented and detailed. Thanks for bringing this out. Semper Fi, John McClain

[@itsapittie]

I'm impressed! It looks as if they thought of almost everything. It's not the first time a perfectly viable concept for a weapon or tool turned out to be something the soldiers didn't really care about.

[@marciliojunior4919]

Yeah there are some really clever asset reutilization, the sights are also very practical (as much as offset sights can be) and its very robust, a bit overweight but i see nothing to make it work unreliably.

[@Platinum_Squid]

Yeah I also thought it looked really cool. But then I’m more engineer than solider. It would be nice to see it in action or something and see where it didn’t function as well as other guns

[@Rose.Of.Hizaki]

The thing with this gun is it borrows designs or was derived from the Russian PK. But the Czech design/influence is clearly there. Because I also see a lot of BREN gun in it and the BREN is of Czech design. Also as point of note, this NK Type 73 shares visual resemblances to the Japanese Type 96 LMG

[@stevenwestswanson9263]

Seems like a well made support weapon. Maybe a bit complicated but looks like it runs well.

[@DenDodde]

I pity the fool that have to walk around with it though. Also, runs on rims.

[@allancastellon9248]

​@@DenDodde honestly if it uses the mag and someone else is carrying the boxes it probably isn't too bad to lug around

[@billshepherd4331]

They did put a lot of thought into it.

[@Hysteria98]

This is such a fucking cool gun. A mix of ideas and Multi-purpose facets.

[@gingergorilla695]

It's a Frankenstein and it's beautiful because of it. Best Korea wins again lol

[@arthurbretas2003]

This is now one of my favourite machineguns, so many cool "amenities" crammed into one package

[@Horizontalvertigo]

And you can single load it when you run out of both mags and belts, Kim provides

[@marvindebot3264]

Dear Leader is #1! Can I have my potato now?

[@avroredgrave954]

Some of the access you are starting to gain is just incredible! Thank you so much for bringing to us Ian👍

[@austinwagner3231]

Very cool, its rare that I see an objective commentary about North Korean affairs. Well done Ian

[@yt.602]

Another great example of why Ian's work is so interesting as a living museum. Not only access to, but a breakdown of a firearm that uncommon.

[@fredericlepeltier3435]

Even if the dual "magazine/belt" feed system is a better idea on paper than in practice, i have to give credit to the north korean. A hole in the feed cover and a magazine that present the round in at the same position as the belt does, simple, sleek and it works! The only problem is that what you want is to be able to use the same mags as the rest of the squad, not a specific type of mag that the MG gunner has to carry in surplus with the belts!. That exemple most likely found its way from the three frontier region (Mali-Niger-Burkina-Faso) where the French army operates.

[@vincentmueller3717]

Simple solution to this problem-make at least a portin of belts in 25rd sections instead of 50+rds. Make a small, 25rd capacity box. Uses standard PKM, ammo and belts. Only requires 1 new part (box), 1 modified component (short belt)* *I freely admit I've never attended the Elbonian Engineering Polytechnic, but l think this is a simple, cheap solution.

[@AlexLee-dc2vb]

If we're getting more videos about North Korean guns I hope we get to see one of those AK-74s with helical drums

[@MPdude237]

10:01 What are the two range setting for on either side? Do they have rounds with different trajectories? I would imagine that all military issue 7.62x54r would be uniform.

[@robertsloan2877]

Putting a rifle grenade adaptor on an LMG is probably the most North Korean thing I've ever seen.

[@Matt-xc6sp]

I don’t know why but I love the way that muzzle break goes on over the barrel with lugs and stop pin like that.

[@jasonalmendra3823]

A Maxim belt holds 50 rounds. Hence the expression "50 round ambush".

[@IridiumRedTheOrigina]

I feel like this is, once again, a video that if Ian hadn't made it and put it online.... you wouldn't be able to see it anywhere (and if it was viewable elsewhere, it wouldn't be so thorough and detailed). IE, another treasure from Forgotten Weapons, thanks Ian :)

[@BurtSampson]

Putting a GL onto a light machine gun actually kind of makes sense. In an assault they're going to set up behind the assault to provide suppressive fire, so why not also let them launch basically little mini mortars in support as well.

[@gordlusty9316]

Love the international flavor you always bring. Your interest in the history of the firearms of France reaps unique dividends for us all. The friendships you've developed in France from plain ol intellectual curiosity builds respect that goes beyond borders. Great cultures will give and receive great respect. ..or something like that.... Well done man.

[@marvindebot3264]

This thing is so rare that every mention online says no details are available and no one has ever seen one up close (tho Wikipedia says the Sth Koreans have one) so chances are this is the only one in the west. No doubt it was aquired either in Iraq, fighting ISIS (who were delivered some) or in Africa.

[@KrisHandsome]

North Korea never sent guns to ISIS. A large number were bought and used by Iran back in the 1980s, and stocks of them have been in the region ever since. It seems that most of the ones being seen now were distributed by Iran to Iranian-backed groups fighting ISIS. Makes sense some organization from France would get one in for evaluation considering both France and it’s allies have encountered them.

[@MrMevie]

The DPRK has been making a decent bit of money selling arms to Syria in the past decade. Supposedly there is military advisors from North Korea in Syria as well.

[@marvindebot3264]

@@KrisHandsome Not directly no but trust me, some of the Iranian guns along with some sent to Syria need up in the hands of ISIS.

[@KrisHandsome]

@@marvindebot3264 Guns being sent by Iran to forces fighting ISIS and them being captured is very different from them “being delivered to ISIS”. It’s wholly different from what you are claiming.

[@RA-ov5cw]

@@KrisHandsome Like the M4s with "property of the US Government" stamped on them being sold by some dudes close to Hezbollah in Lebanon. US sent weaponds to Israel, Israel fought with Hezbollah and Hezbollah ends up with a bunch of US military rifles.

[@andyrihn1]

That belt extractor being just being held in by the bolt is pretty smart since NK manufactured ones are probably way more likely to break than the permanently attached Soviet ones

[@jerenahw]

Who else is here because North Korea is in Ukraine?

[@Autobotmatt428]

Just saw Ian’s post

[@FrankBarnwell-xi8my]

Yes. 8th of November. Awaiting the Battleship New Jersey BB62 video. Oh my. She's, the ship is far better armed.

[@fishinfox]

Unfortunately so

[@ForgetUbro]

Me lmao

[@motrhead69]

Not me😅

[@ihcfn]

Clever design, impressive.

[@MSUbulldog21]

One of the most awesome guns Ian has ever filmed IMHO. Fantastic video and incredibly interesting.

[@apethae1]

Question for you Ian - since the North Koreans have their own calendar year (if I recall it's dated since the birth of Kim Il Sung, with a similar sentiment as we do the BC/AD split), why do guns like the Type 73/Type 82 refer to the Western calendar year? Or is that an artifact of our translation of their NK designations to Western equivalents?

[@KrisHandsome]

I find the claim that they widely use a wholly different calendar year doubtful, but regardless guns like this tend to get their widely known western designation from the DoD or NATO. It’s the same reason the Chinese QBZ-95 is also called the Type 95 a lot. We tend to forgo any local designation and instead call things Type-year.

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@KrisHandsome crud, the _Japanese_ do. They restart counting the years every time a new Emperor takes over. So I assume that the Norks do the same thing. "5th year of Il-Sungs leadership" or equivalent.

[@elyssia_wow169]

They use a dual system like the Japanese, western calendar is not a mythical beast in NK

[@faraway2217]

@@ScottKenny1978 The Japanese didn't use Emperor years to designated their weapons though. Post-war Japanese weapons use AD years for its designation (1989 in Type 89 rifle, 1964 in Type 64), while before their defeat in WW2 they used Imperial years (2599 in Type 99 rifle, 2604 in Type 4 rifle) Similiar system would be the ROC years (Minguo 24 in Type 24 rifle)

[@faraway2217]

@@KrisHandsome it's called Type 95 because its official designation is "Type 95 Automatic Rifle". US intelligence usually used "M-year" (M stands for "model") for unknown foreign weapons, as in the NK's M-1978 "Kosan" SPG

[@romainlapie6362]

About the origin of the come back of this gun in France, another possibily would be a "prévoté comeback". Indeed, when France launch one of its numerous operation in Africa or in middle east, Gendarmes are deployed alongside French troops to partly do a Military Police Job, they are what is called the prévoté, dealing with all kinds of stuff, military misbehavior inside the army or with civilians. They are the most numerous gendarmes presence in area where you could meet this kind of firearms. Special operation implicating Gendarmerie outside France are much, much scarcer. For that we would usually use Special Forces. So if had to cherry pick, I would say that it's the prévoté detachment in some malian base who got his hand on it somehow, then brought back to gendarmerie collection.

[@lx1995Mk2]

So where did the person who redesigned this go because this is more impressive considering the only other NK weapon I've seen was a really crude 1911

[@KrisHandsome]

I think they just don’t branch out into their own designs all that often. They have some very interesting weapons like a gun that fires an RPG like a extra portable mortar, and this, but usually they make a lot of weapons based on Soviet/Russian designs in their own factories, reportedly with good internal quality and rough external finishes.

[@eddietat95]

I see three general types of weapons coming out of North Korea. There's the higher-quality 50s-80s Soviet copies that depended heavily on direct Soviet technical assistance, but - as with all Soviet clients - was manufactured locally and with a local twist. Then there's the crude copies of Korean War captures, Soviet Lend-Lease stuff donated to North Korea, and even their own Soviet/Chinese stuff built with whatever scarce resources could be scavenged. And then there's the new developments from the 2010s onwards that's of dubious yet passable quality, but very much unique, locally developed, but built in low numbers. I suspect that the guy who designed this was part of the planning group for the first category. When the Soviet Union collapsed, so did its funding and support for North Korea. Their arms industry entered the second, more desperate category. They slowly regained industrial capacity to reach the third category.

[@stukafaust]

Surprisingly sophisticated design! I like all the features.

[@jirja3192]

It's kinda weird since original vz.52 machinegun was supposed to be a SAW or LAW type of machinegun using intermediate cartridge and same magazine as assault rifle. We all know in 1950's this idea hit a wall when Soviets ordered us to remake all guns for their ammo and vz.52/57 couldn't use same magazines as vz.58, machinegun version of vz.58 failed and at the end Czechoslovakia ended up using UK vz.59 universal machinegun which was a good gun but it was not a SAW... Now it just looks like Kim wanted to have machinegun with both belt and magazine just because it looks cool...

[@samuelbrown3405]

I've been waiting for this video for a while now. Seriously, my curiosity as to how this thing works was killing me. I can now die happy.

[@ansgar1464]

I'm sure that this is a perfectly deadly weapon but hell man, it looks like if Mordor had guns. It looks similar crude like the armament of the orks.

[@russwoodward8251]

A fascinating riff on the PK. Thanks.

[@desperado8605]

How did i miss this when you originally uploaded it. NK guns are usually meh but i want one

[@Jason-iz6ob]

This is surprisingly well designed. The ability to launch rifle grenades from a machine gun is dubious at best. Probably the bright idea of some clueless general rather than the gun’s designers. But it seems well executed. Especially the “well if we have to we might as well make it somewhat useful by letting it double as a muzzle brake” muzzle brake…..

[@TheRogueWolf]

"What if we copied a bunch of _good_ ideas?" - an unknown North Korean gunsmith

[@khaelamensha3624]

Or leader 😂

[@fabiogalletti8616]

@@khaelamensha3624 yeap, more a "I want a machine gun with this bunch of good ideas! Or else..." with some NK gunsmiths shaking around.

[@willistuttle966]

Yes. Put them all in the same gun.

[@MyUsername09AZ]

It's missing only bayonet lug, spider sights, and a mechanism to launch torpedoes, haha.

[@drdweeb]

well I must admit that since north koreans seem to take part in Kursk oblast battles now this LMG are to become not as rare as they used to

[@sleestalk]

Whoever the spot welder was in NK woke up and chose Violence that day, WOW that's some serious juice.

[@BleedingUranium]

Given the hook feeding mechanism thingy, wouldn't this technically be a very rare example of an open bolt gun that can hold +1, despite the +1 not quite being in the chamber? I suppose the same would apply to the regular PK family, though with belts I suppose it's not as relevant.

[@B-System]

With the bolt locked back, the incoming round has already been pushed down out of the claws and into the breech.

[@jeremymcadam7400]

@@B-System open the top, stick a round in, close the top, insert mag, charge. That will be +1 correct?

[@brucekendall9873]

Jesus the stock looks like a giant ham thing looks so heavy

[@Bacteriophagebs]

I suspect the fluted barrel is intended to improve cooling rather than reduce weight.

[@Crangaso]

Speechless. . . Absolutely beautiful!

[@Tackleberry117]

You know you're way into the weeds when looking at something north Korean sharing a quality with a Boberg

[@nc_classics9767]

Who knew a North Korean machine gun would have so many features and options including an onboard muzzle brake attachment

[@MAlanThomasII]

Reminded me of a Swiss Army knife with all of the options and nested attachments.

[@UlisseDizante]

No bayonet, tho :(

[@SarionFetecuse]

Thank you gun Jesus I love doing engineering work while listening to you! Very relaxing!

[@robina6645]

Designer: Do you want it to be able to fire rifle grenades or have a plain muzzle brake? Kim Jong Il: Yes

[@highjumpstudios2384]

Honestly this lmg looks like something I would draw when I first started drawing firearms. Especially that magazine, woweee, look at that curve.

[@bombofbombe]

What's interesting is how crude the gun is, especially the wooden parts. You can tell how limited the machining is.

[@letsburn00]

Spend money on proper machining equipment and training? But great leader that totally isn't a monarch needs to spend that money on Grade A whisky and making knockoff Godzilla films. And yes, during this period, the north Koreans really did spend their money kidnapping foreign film directors.

[@nicholasthuya7683]

@@letsburn00 and The cheese too Don’t forget the expensive cheese

[@letsburn00]

@@nicholasthuya7683 Why do I feel like the enormous adventures of North Korean Cheese theft is so enormous that you can write a book, or at least there is an episode of behind the bastards about it (Like how Saddam wrote a romance novel)