North Korea Showcases Defense Industry Amid Depleting Western Stocks

North Korea opened the Defense Development 2025 military exhibition in Pyongyang to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the news.

The event showcased recent achievements of the country’s defense industry and developments in domestic weapons systems.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un attended the opening and inspected new military equipment. Party, government and military officials, as well as the representatives of the defense sector and scientists, were also present.

The exhibition featured a wide range of weapons, both newly developed and previously known to international observers. Several pavilions were dedicated to missile systems, displaying anti-ship and cruise missiles, as well as short-, medium- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.

New firearms and armored vehicles were also on display, including the Cheonma-2 tank and several unidentified armored personnel carriers equipped with automated mortar systems and turrets likely mounting 105 mm cannons. The absence of interior viewports suggests the turrets may be unmanned.

The vehicle appears to be a typical wheeled armored personnel carrier with a turret-mounted gun. Its potential use within the Korean army remains unclear. In many countries, similar vehicles serve in light units operating in mountainous terrain or during amphibious missions.
For example, Japan’s Type 16 wheeled armored vehicles are part of rapid reaction regiments intended for landings on remote islands, while Italy’s Centauro vehicles are deployed in cavalry units supporting infantry formations in remote areas to provide fire support.

An armored carrier with an automated mortar system, conceptually similar to France’s Dragonfire 120 mm mortar platform, also was on display.

A long-range anti-tank system mounted on a military pickup truck with six launch tubes, likely for Bulsae-4 missiles, also drew attention. The same missiles have reportedly been used by Russian forces in Ukraine.

Official specifications for Bulsae-4 have not been released, but its size and configuration suggest capabilities comparable to Israel’s Spike NLOS missile.

In recent years, North Korea’s defense industry has made notable progress in armored vehicle development. While the design is not conceptually new, it reflects Western approaches to modern armored personnel carriers, tanks and missile systems.

The systems displayed in Pyongyang continue this trend, reflecting closer cooperation between North Korea, China and Russia amid growing geopolitical alignment into rival blocs.

South Korea recently launched an investigation into reports that Russia might have supplied nuclear reactor modules for submarines to North Korea.