Chonma - ho The Ch ' ŏnma - ho or spelled as Chonma - ho ( Chosŏn ' gŭl : 천마호 ; Hanja : 天馬號 ) , which means " Sky Horse " or Pegasus , 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 " . The original Ch ' ŏnma - ho is based on the Soviet T - 62 . There are at least five different operational versions of the Ch ' ŏnma - ho . Since its inception , the Ch ' ŏnma - ho has been upgraded various times . Not much is known about it , and its most recent public appearance was the 60th Anniversary Parade held in Pyongyang , North Korea , on 25 April 1992 , celebrating the 60th anniversary of North Korea ' s ruling party . A history of North Korea ' s armour . After the cease - fire of the Korean War in 1953 , North Korea found itself in need of much more modern equipment . During the war , North Korea had been sold T - 34 s by the Soviet Union to combat American M4 Sherman s and M26 Pershing s . According to a report to the United States Congress in 2000 , the North Korean military had more or less 2 , 000 tanks garrisoned along the demilitarized zone alone . This means that between the years 1954 and 2000 the North Koreans were able to stockpile over 2 , 000 tanks , including Soviet T - 55 s and T - 62s and Chinese Type 59s and Type 62 s . A North Korean general who defected to South Korea also said that due to a lack of fuel military exercises are limited . It is also possible that many of the older vehicles used by the North Korean People ' s Army are not well maintained and have suffered from years of use . This still remains true even assuming good maintenance , and the North Korean army would not be the only military experiencing this . Between 1939 and 1953 much of Spain ' s armour fell into disrepair due to its age , and the same could be true for the North Korean military . 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 Type 59 and Type 62 , as well as the T - 54 , T - 62 and possibly the T - 72 . The T - 54 was probably sold to North Korea between 1960 and 1970 , while the T - 62 was reportedly sold in the mid 1980s . Unconfirmed reports indicate a few T - 72s may have been provided to North Korea in the early 1990s . It is known that the North Koreans still make limited use of vintage Second World War T - 34s as well as well as the Soviet era PT - 76 / 85 amphibious tanks . Up to 3 , 800 tanks are coupled with at least 12 , 000 self - propelled artillery pieces and thousands of other towed artillery pieces of unknown type and number . The North Koreans also have at least nine different types of armoured personnel carriers , including the BMP - 1 . The Ch ' ŏnma - ho 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 - ho , 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 - ho 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 amounts of tanks underscores this . The Ch ' ŏnma - ho is an attempt to partially address the technology gap between its current dated tank forces and South Korean K1A1 and the US M1A2 Abrams tank . Production history . There might be two versions of the Ch ' ŏnma - ho 1 : the copy of the Syrian T - 62 in the late 1970s , and an original copy exported by the Soviet Union which may be the T - 62D . The Ch ' ŏnma - ho is not related to the Chinese Type 62 . Despite its relation to the T - 62 , the original version of the Ch ' ŏnma - ho had thinner armour and was consequently lighter . This version of the tank has two distinctive bolts on the bottom portion of the upper glacis plate . The Ch ' ŏnma - ho I name was also given ( at least by the West and South Korean white papers ) to the imported T - 62 , which was later slightly upgraded to the IM version . Although no dates are available , the Ch ' ŏnma - ho I was later upgraded to the II version with a laser rangefinder above the mantlet . According to online sources this Ch ' ŏnma - ho was upgraded once again , probably in the mid - 1980s , with a ' boom shield ' . The Ch ' ŏnma - ho III might have also seen an armour upgrade with the addition of full - hull skirting and a new thermal shroud for the original 115 mm main gun . The most modern Ch ' ŏnma - ho tanks seem to be the IV and V versions . The Ch ' ŏnma - ho IV is fitted with what resemble EDZ light explosive reactive armour bricks . Judging by photographs , these are mounted specifically on the turret side , with at least eight bricks per side . The Ch ' ŏnma - ho IV is reported to be upgraded with new side - mounted smoke launcher s . North Korea is rumored to have received a few examples of the T - 72 s after 1992 , and possibly a single T - 90 S main battle tank in August 2001 . Any conclusion regarding whether the Ch ' ŏnma - ho has been upgraded to the standards of either the T - 72 or the T - 90S would be highly speculative at this point . Around 90 % of the Ch ' ŏnma - ho is indigenously produced . There is evidence , however , that North Korea has purchased entire engines , or engine components , from Slovakia . Furthermore , it is thought that ceramic components , possibly for an upgraded armour scheme , are from foreign sources , as well as fire control components . It is not clear how much is indigenously produced in regards to the different variants of the Ch ' ŏnma - ho . The figure of 90 % could have changed considerably between the original Ch ' ŏnma - ho I and the Ch ' ŏnma - ho V , although it should be kept into consideration that many of the major features are probably purchased from abroad - especially for the upgrades of the tanks . It is not clear how much North Korea can afford on producing on its own , or how much it can afford to import for that matter . It is thought that North Korea is considerably low on resources , especially money , and this belief has been perpetuated after North Korea ' s nuclear test incidents in 2006 . It is possible that Russia is supplying North Korea with several components for North Korea ' s tank projects which include the Ch ' ŏnma - ho and quite possibly the M - 2002 , although no hard evidence can support this claim . According to available information the North Koreans are developing a new main battle tank at the Ryu Kyong - su tank plant in Sinhung , with prototype performance trials in 2002 . This news arrived simultaneously with Kim Jong - il ' s trip to Russia in 2001 , where he visited the Omsktransmash tank plant which produces the T - 80 U tank . This new tank may be a further improvement of the Ch ' ŏnma - ho , or a new tank altogether . This new tank has been called the M - 2002 . The news concerning North Korea ' s future main battle tank has certainly driven South Korea to look for outlets for their own national tank programs , including the future South Korean Main Battle Tank , the K2 . Deployment history . It is unknown which units of the Korean People ' s Army might be outfitted with the Ch ' ŏnma - ho . It is clear that the Ch ' ŏnma - ho is a general replacement for previously employed tanks , including the T - 62 , T - 34 and Type 59 medium tanks . It is very possible that the Ch ' ŏnma - ho will equip the spearhead and elite of North Korea ' s armoured forces . They are apparently deployed in sufficient numbers to be strategically significant . There might be as many as 800 T - 62s in the North Korean army , of which any number could be one of the five Ch ' ŏnma - ho variants .