A Russian serviceman criticized North Korea’s 7.62×54R mm Type 73 machine gun.

The video was posted by Special Kherson Cat on his X page.

Judging by the setting, the recording was made at a firing range. An instructor or a soldier is present in the frame.

Among the main disadvantages of the Type 73 machine gun are its heavy weight and the inconvenience of iron sights. As a result, the Russian soldier stated that he would prefer not to work with this weapon.

North Korean Type 73 7.62x54R machine gun inspected by Russians. pic.twitter.com/5INZto8Kio

— Special Kherson Cat ??? (@bayraktar_1love) December 23, 2024

As a reminder, the use of the Type 73 machine guns by the Russian military became known in November 2024. This was the first time that these weapons were seen in the hands of the Russian military, not the North Korean contingent.

At that time, Militarnyi assumed that the Type 73s could have been transferred for the needs of the North Korean contingent deployed in the combat zone.

In addition, the appearance of such “exotic” weapons in the Russian infantry could be related to familiarization with samples of weapons used by “neighbors”.

There is a possibility that the Type 73 is part of an agreement between the DPRK and Russia, under which the latter has pledged to purchase North Korean weapons.

This assumption seems logical, since Russia has its own machine guns, including the 6P41 Pecheneg (PKP), as well as significant stocks of Soviet PKMs and PKs.

Type 73

The Type 73 is a North Korean infantry machine gun of 7.62×54R caliber, which can be called a hybrid of the Soviet PK and Czechoslovakian VZ. 52. The appearance of the machine gun resembles a mixture of these models, supplemented by elements typical of the British Bren.

The exact date of development and production of the Type 73 remains unknown. However, given the period of development of the PC and VZ. 52, it can be assumed that the machine gun was developed in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Type 73 was widely used outside the Korean Peninsula. It was used during the Iran-Iraq war, as well as by various armed groups in the Middle East, including ISIS and the Houthis in Yemen.

In addition, the machine guns were shipped to Africa. For example, in 2017, the French Navy seized a shipment of smuggled weapons, including Type 73s, that was headed for Somalia.

The Type 73 weighs 10.6 kg and is 1190 mm long. For comparison, the unarmed PK and PKM weigh 9 and 7.5 kilograms respectively, and the PKP weighs 8.7 kilograms.

The machine gun is difficult to operate not only because of its considerable weight, but also because of ergonomic shortcomings, including the magazine located on top.

This design makes it impossible to install modern sighting devices such as collimator, holographic or night sights.

Theoretically, the machine gun could be adapted to accommodate an “oblique” rail for mounting sights, but the shift of the center of mass up and to the side would make it difficult to conduct targeted fire.

Today, the Type 73 is being gradually replaced by a more modern model, the Type 82, in the North Korean military.