Russian Military Starts Arming with 60mm Mortars from North Korea

Russian army units have started to receive 60mm mortars manufactured in North Korea.

Russian state-affiliated channel Voenny Osvetitel published the photos documenting this.

According to Russian sources, the deployment of these mortars is aimed at improving infantry combat effectiveness, drawing on the successful experience of the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ use of 60mm mortars.

The mortar bears specific markings. The inscription indicates that it is a 60mm mortar of type (A) (60미리박격포(ㄱ)), which may suggest the existence of several versions of this weapon in the product line.

One of the inscriptions inside indicates the country of origin — the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) (조선민주주의 인민공화국).

The serial number was likely deliberately erased during transfer. At the same time, the lower part of the body retains an instruction: “Fire on a flat range at a 45° angle” (평사사격장탄 45°에서 할것).

It should be noted that for a long time, there was no confirmed information about the presence of 60mm mortars in the DPRK’s arsenal. Samples with a similar form factor were rare, and some of them were likely misidentified as 66mm mortars.

Such mortars most often appeared during exercises of North Korean airborne units. This is evidenced by photographic materials from maneuvers conducted in the 1990s and 2000s.

It should be noted that, in addition to mortars, North Korea is actively supplying Russia with more powerful artillery systems, including 170mm Koksan howitzers.

Militarnyi previously reported that Russia armed one of its newly established artillery brigades with Koksan self-propelled guns (SPGs) received from North Korea.

Additionally, the transfer of multiple launch rocket systems has been documented, particularly the 300mm KN-09 MLRS, which was destroyed using the American HIMARS rocket system.

The target was located and adjusted for fire using a reconnaissance drone operated by Ukraine’s 4th Ranger Regiment. As confirmation of this, a video of the enemy launcher’s destruction has been made publicly available.