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Chonma-ho AI simulator
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Hub AI
Chonma-ho AI simulator
(@Chonma-ho_simulator)
Chonma-ho
The Ch'ŏnma (Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마; Hanja: 天馬 meaning 'Pegasus'), Chonma-Ho, is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The tank is also known by the name of 천리마 전차 (千里馬 or the "Chollima Tank")[citation needed]. The Ch'ŏnma is based on the Soviet T-62. There are at least seven different operational versions of the Ch'ŏnma. Since its inception, the Ch'ŏnma has undergone several extensive upgrades. Little public information is available about this tank, and its most recent public appearance was the Ch'ŏnma 20 at the 80th Anniversary of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Parade held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on 11th October 2025.
After the Armistice Agreement of the Korean War in 1953, North Korea found itself in need of much more modern equipment. Prior to the start of open hostilities, North Korea had acquired 379 T-34s from the Soviet Union. According to a report to the United States Congress in 2000, the North Korean military had up to 2,000 tanks garrisoned along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) alone.
Although not much is known about the North Korean military after the Korean War, it is known that they have many different types of tanks. These include the Chinese Type 59 and Type 62, as well as the Soviet T-54/55. The T-54 was probably sold to North Korea between 1960 and 1970, while the T-62 was reportedly sold in the mid-1980s.[citation needed] It is known that the North Koreans still make limited use of vintage World War II T-34s as well as the Soviet-era PT-76 amphibious tanks. Up to 5,400 tanks are coupled with at least 12,000 self-propelled artillery pieces and thousands of other towed artillery pieces of unknown type and quantity.
The Ch'ŏnma has been issued to North Korea's premier armored formations, and would lead the initial attempts to break through South Korean defences. Other armour is relegated to a secondary role in this corps or to North Korea's four mechanized corps. To underscore North Korea's concept of combined arms and the importance of armour, and therefore the importance of the Ch'ŏnma, North Korea's sole armour corps is directly grouped with two mechanized corps and a single artillery corps. However, this forms the second echelon of North Korea's deployment to the DMZ, with the first echelon composed of four infantry corps, and the rest in strategic reserve. This may also play a part in a defensive strategy, as the North Korean army is arrayed in depth, and the armour might be strategically placed to both provide offensive power and a second echelon composed of mobile defences to plug a South Korean breakthrough along the DMZ.
The Ch'ŏnma is a product of North Korea's approach of Juche, or self-reliance, which also includes several indigenous self-propelled artillery pieces. The idea of juche comes from a North Korean sentiment of abandonment by their allies, China and Soviet Union/Russia. This accounts for their drive towards overproduction and for recent North Korean nuclear developments, as well as the production of long-range missiles which provide North Korea with its longer range striking power. This all manifests itself within the 'triangle' of North Korean military development – armour, artillery and missiles. In fact, this seems reminiscent from Soviet military theory, including the application of overwhelming artillery support and the use of large amounts of armour to create a breakthrough after the initial artillery disruption. In that sense, North Korean military strategy is very mobile, and the large numbers of tanks underscores this. The Ch'ŏnma is an attempt to partially address the technology gap between its current dated tank forces and South Korean K1A1 and the US M1 Abrams tank.
The first Ch'ŏnma manufactured were simply license-produced T-62s with some minor differences, such as a differently shaped loader's hatch on the turret, and distinctive bolts on the front glacis. It is commonly stated that North Korea received batches of 500 T-62s from the Soviet Union, but this is incorrect. It is much more probable that the Soviet Union provided North Korea with the required knowledge to domestically produce the T-62, possibly donating a production line in the process, with series production starting in 1978. It is also often inaccurately claimed that the initial Ch'ŏnma had worse armour quality than the T-62, but this is also unfounded – no nation that operated the Ch'ŏnma complained about the armour quality, and studying of the American-captured Ch'ŏnma in Iraq in 2003 didn't reveal any armour defects either.
The Ch'ŏnma underwent a few minor upgrades in its initial form. In 1986, the Ch'ŏnma was first seen with a new turret bustle. This would increase the turret's interior space, perhaps providing more ammunition capacity by enabling the radio and other equipment to be stored elsewhere. In 1992 (albeit initially spotted in 1985), the Ch'ŏnma was shown in a parade with external laser rangefinders over the base of the gun barrel. Multiple variants of the laser rangefinder have been seen, and they are all distinct from the Soviet KTD-1 and KTD-2. These variants were not distinguished in North Korean service by different names, and are thus all called Ch'ŏnma. However, western sources often refer to the variant with the laser rangefinder as Ch'ŏnma-Ho II.
The first major upgrade of the Ch'ŏnma is known as the Ch'ŏnma-92 in North Korea (referred to as either M1992 or Ch'ŏnma-Ho III/Da in Western sources). It was first spotted in 1992 but officially presented on 25 April 2002, for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. The upgrade consisted of a new welded turret (with composite armour) with ERA on the sides (in 3 rows of 3-4-4 elements), a thermal sleeve for the gun, a new laser rangefinder (still externally mounted) and smoke grenade launchers on the front turret, as well as a new 750 hp engine. The vehicle was also upgraded with rubber side skirts, and some with stowage bins on the turret rear. Another minor variant of this has also been spotted, and seems to remove the turret side ERA in place of spaced armour.
Chonma-ho
The Ch'ŏnma (Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마; Hanja: 天馬 meaning 'Pegasus'), Chonma-Ho, is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The tank is also known by the name of 천리마 전차 (千里馬 or the "Chollima Tank")[citation needed]. The Ch'ŏnma is based on the Soviet T-62. There are at least seven different operational versions of the Ch'ŏnma. Since its inception, the Ch'ŏnma has undergone several extensive upgrades. Little public information is available about this tank, and its most recent public appearance was the Ch'ŏnma 20 at the 80th Anniversary of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) Parade held in Pyongyang, North Korea, on 11th October 2025.
After the Armistice Agreement of the Korean War in 1953, North Korea found itself in need of much more modern equipment. Prior to the start of open hostilities, North Korea had acquired 379 T-34s from the Soviet Union. According to a report to the United States Congress in 2000, the North Korean military had up to 2,000 tanks garrisoned along the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) alone.
Although not much is known about the North Korean military after the Korean War, it is known that they have many different types of tanks. These include the Chinese Type 59 and Type 62, as well as the Soviet T-54/55. The T-54 was probably sold to North Korea between 1960 and 1970, while the T-62 was reportedly sold in the mid-1980s.[citation needed] It is known that the North Koreans still make limited use of vintage World War II T-34s as well as the Soviet-era PT-76 amphibious tanks. Up to 5,400 tanks are coupled with at least 12,000 self-propelled artillery pieces and thousands of other towed artillery pieces of unknown type and quantity.
The Ch'ŏnma has been issued to North Korea's premier armored formations, and would lead the initial attempts to break through South Korean defences. Other armour is relegated to a secondary role in this corps or to North Korea's four mechanized corps. To underscore North Korea's concept of combined arms and the importance of armour, and therefore the importance of the Ch'ŏnma, North Korea's sole armour corps is directly grouped with two mechanized corps and a single artillery corps. However, this forms the second echelon of North Korea's deployment to the DMZ, with the first echelon composed of four infantry corps, and the rest in strategic reserve. This may also play a part in a defensive strategy, as the North Korean army is arrayed in depth, and the armour might be strategically placed to both provide offensive power and a second echelon composed of mobile defences to plug a South Korean breakthrough along the DMZ.
The Ch'ŏnma is a product of North Korea's approach of Juche, or self-reliance, which also includes several indigenous self-propelled artillery pieces. The idea of juche comes from a North Korean sentiment of abandonment by their allies, China and Soviet Union/Russia. This accounts for their drive towards overproduction and for recent North Korean nuclear developments, as well as the production of long-range missiles which provide North Korea with its longer range striking power. This all manifests itself within the 'triangle' of North Korean military development – armour, artillery and missiles. In fact, this seems reminiscent from Soviet military theory, including the application of overwhelming artillery support and the use of large amounts of armour to create a breakthrough after the initial artillery disruption. In that sense, North Korean military strategy is very mobile, and the large numbers of tanks underscores this. The Ch'ŏnma is an attempt to partially address the technology gap between its current dated tank forces and South Korean K1A1 and the US M1 Abrams tank.
The first Ch'ŏnma manufactured were simply license-produced T-62s with some minor differences, such as a differently shaped loader's hatch on the turret, and distinctive bolts on the front glacis. It is commonly stated that North Korea received batches of 500 T-62s from the Soviet Union, but this is incorrect. It is much more probable that the Soviet Union provided North Korea with the required knowledge to domestically produce the T-62, possibly donating a production line in the process, with series production starting in 1978. It is also often inaccurately claimed that the initial Ch'ŏnma had worse armour quality than the T-62, but this is also unfounded – no nation that operated the Ch'ŏnma complained about the armour quality, and studying of the American-captured Ch'ŏnma in Iraq in 2003 didn't reveal any armour defects either.
The Ch'ŏnma underwent a few minor upgrades in its initial form. In 1986, the Ch'ŏnma was first seen with a new turret bustle. This would increase the turret's interior space, perhaps providing more ammunition capacity by enabling the radio and other equipment to be stored elsewhere. In 1992 (albeit initially spotted in 1985), the Ch'ŏnma was shown in a parade with external laser rangefinders over the base of the gun barrel. Multiple variants of the laser rangefinder have been seen, and they are all distinct from the Soviet KTD-1 and KTD-2. These variants were not distinguished in North Korean service by different names, and are thus all called Ch'ŏnma. However, western sources often refer to the variant with the laser rangefinder as Ch'ŏnma-Ho II.
The first major upgrade of the Ch'ŏnma is known as the Ch'ŏnma-92 in North Korea (referred to as either M1992 or Ch'ŏnma-Ho III/Da in Western sources). It was first spotted in 1992 but officially presented on 25 April 2002, for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army. The upgrade consisted of a new welded turret (with composite armour) with ERA on the sides (in 3 rows of 3-4-4 elements), a thermal sleeve for the gun, a new laser rangefinder (still externally mounted) and smoke grenade launchers on the front turret, as well as a new 750 hp engine. The vehicle was also upgraded with rubber side skirts, and some with stowage bins on the turret rear. Another minor variant of this has also been spotted, and seems to remove the turret side ERA in place of spaced armour.