IS와 시리아 정부군, 북한 무기로 서로 싸운다

 

North Korean HT-16PGJ MANPADS in Lattakia, 26th of November 2015. Right: The same MANPADS seen in a North Korean military parade.

IS와 시리아정부군, 북한 무기로 서로 싸운다

North Korean HT-16PGJ MANPADS in Syria

Subject to severe sanctions for almost a decade, the proliferation of North Korean conventional armament on the international arms market is an often underreported topic, and many arms deals of the past are completely undocumented. Nonetheless, the traces of these deals still mark many of the world's conflict areas, and every once in a while new footage confirms North Korea's involvement in the international arms trade.

Alongside main battle tanks upgraded by the DPRK, various types of artillery, anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and light machine guns (LMGs) already present in today's conflict hotspots, analysis of imagery of weaponry used in the Syrian Civil War shows the presence of North Korean man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS) amongst various factions opposing the regime of president Bashar al-Assad. The sighting of this system has become common enough to suggest the scale of their initial delivery to the Assad regime was sizeable, although the fact that they are consistently identified as the similar Soviet Igla-1E (SA-16) system also used in Syria means they have largely remained unnoticed to this date.

A single example was first identified in August 2014 in the hands of a fighter of the Islamic State at Ksesh (which was captured from Jaish al-Islam in the summer of 2014), but further research has unveiled an entire batch of at least 18 launchers and their associated systems was captured by the Free Syrian Army and Kateeba al-Kawthar (originally an al-Qaeda-linked group) at Brigade 80 in Aleppo in February 2013. While no aircraft or helicopters are explicitely known to have been shot down by these missiles, their continued presence on the battlefield, most recently in the heavily embattled Lattakia Governorate suggests they are still functional.

                                                    North Korean HT-16PGJ MANPADS with cap removed at Ksesh airbase, August 2014.

                                                       Stash of North Korean HT-16PGJ MANPADS captured in Aleppo, February 2013

Although MANPADS in general appear to be referred to as Hwaseong-Chong (Arquebus) in North Korea, it is thought the specific type exported to Syria is of their third or fourth indigenously developed generation. Early types copied from the Soviet 9K32 Strela-2 (SA-7) MANPADS (which might have donned the designation PGLM or CSA-3A) were likely developed in the 1980s, and what appears to have been an indigenous variant of the 9K34 Strela-3 (SA-14) was spotted as early as 1992. Development has ultimately resulted in a system which has only been identified in recent years, and which seems to have been derived from the Russian 9K38 Igla (SA-18). However, the MANPADS currently seen in Syria shares the most resemblance with the older 9K310 Igla-1 (SA-16) system, but with the characteristic tricone nose mounted on the missile replaced with the more modern aerodynamic spike also seen on the 9K38 Igla (SA-18) and 9K338 Igla-S (SA-24) systems it is likely its performance has been improved. The most significant other difference that allows the North Korean system to be discerned from it Soviet/Russian counterparts is the foreward placement of the thermal battery which powers the MANPADS. This component also determines whether the system is still operable; its depletion means the MANPADS has become useless, leading to several cases where factions desperate for anti-air defence have attempted to jury-rig their own batteries.

Further imagery analysis reveals that the North Korean system spotted in Syria carries the designator
HT-16PGJ (the missiles alone HG-16), and that the specific examples captured at Brigade 80 were part of a contract dated the 1st of January 2004, meaning it is unlikely the shelf-life of the thermal batteries has yet run out. It is possible reports based on Western intelligence of a 2003 delivery by an unknown supplier (said to be Belarus) concerning some 300 Igla MANPADS actually refer to a deal surrounding the North Korean system, especially since the Igla has not yet been seen in Syria. If this is the case, it is likely even more MANPADS were acquired than reported as deliveries would have continued into the start of 2004. Indeed, careful study of the box containing the missiles reveals that no less than three-hundred boxes were delivered, containing two missiles each for a total of 600 HT-16PGJ MANPADS.

Despite the fact that the Syrian War has seen its fair share of MANPADS variants, ranging from Soviet-legacy Strela-2M, Strela-3s and Igla-1s to Chinese FN-6s supplied by Qatar through Sudan and Russian Igla-S' provided a few years before the start of the conflict, anti-air defence from the multitude of factions currently roaming the Syrian skies remains scarce. This has forced certain parties to go to extreme lengths to improvise some semblance of anti-air capabilities, and any MANPADS is to be considered a precious asset. Due to the capabilities of these systems, the West was reluctant to provide them to moderate Syrian rebels earlier in the war, fearing they might be smuggled out of the country and used to shoot down commercial airliners. Although such aircraft usually cruise at higher altitudes than can be reached by most MANPADS, a missile fired shortly after takeoff or before landing has shown to be a genuine threat in the past.

Although unlikely to be the most capable MANPADS system currently to be found on the Syrian battlegrounds (a title which belongs to the Russian Igla-S system), it is certainly more effective than the older Strela-2, Strela-3 and Igla-1 systems, and possibly even the Chinese FN-6, which was found to be unreliable by the rebels that used them. As the Russian Air Force continues to remain at the forefront of the aerial campaign against Assad's opponents throughout Syria, including the Lattakia governorate, any type of air-defence systems will be gladly embraced by rebel groups, no matter what their origins are. Whether more of these systems will pop up in the future of course remains to be seen, although the full extent of North Korean exports to nations across the world has likely to only just have begun to unravel, and development of new weaponry including MANPADS that could one day end up on the illegal arms trafficking market is still in progress

"이 'HT-16PGJ'의 유관상 러시아의 휴대형 지대공 미사일인 '9K38 이글라' 개발형이다. 이 모델은 북한이 언젠가 라이센스를 구입했다. 이 맨패드 외관 표식으로 판단하건데 이들은 시리아정부군 80여단 기지를 장악한 2013년 2월 알레포에서 입수한 것으로 보인다. 시리아는 이 맨패드를 2004는 구입했다"고 전문가는 Oryx Blog 블로그 내용을 인용해 설명했다.

 

 전에 그들은 이미 2014년 여름 IS 손에 들려진 이 맨패드를 확인했으며 이것은 2013년 시리아 해방군 전투원들로부터 뺏은 것이다

한편 시리아 정부군은 북한의 73식 기관총도 가지고 있는 것으로 보인다. 이 총은 팔미라 근처 시리아 군이 가지고 있는 것이 확인됐다

 

2015년 봄 북한의 73식 기관총은 이라크 시아파 민병대가 가지고 있었다. 이라크처럼 시리아 역시 이란으로부터 이 북한 무기들을 공수한 것으로 보인다. 이란은 이 기관총을 1980년대에 구입했다. 이란-이라크 전부터  이란 무기고에 있었던 것으로 보인다

North Korean Type-73 LMG sighted in Syria

 

After the sighting of North Korean Type-73 light machine guns (LMGs) in Iraq, it now appears several examples of this rare firearm have made their way to Syria with the deployment of the Iraqi Shiite militia Kata'ib al-Imam Ali to this country. Kata'ib al-Imam Ali's involvement in Syria has been centered around the regime's offensive in Northern Aleppo in February 2016, aimed at cutting off rebel forces North and North-East of Aleppo.

While it was already known the large number of Iraqi Shiite militias deployed to Syria brought their own equipment in from Iraq (even including U.S. M-1114s), the chances of one or more Type-73 LMGs being amongst these weapons was deemed to be quite small, especially when considering Iraq never was an operator of the Type-73. Indeed, it was Iran who supplied limited numbers of these LMGs to the various Shiite militias operating under the Popular Mobilization Forces umbrella organisation.

Iran originally received its Type-73s during the Iran-Iraq war in the early eighties, which forced Iran to look for a supplier that could provide Iran with various types of weaponry that could quickly be delivered: North Korea. Although the Type-73 served alongside its older brother, the PK(M), it appeared to have been discarded after enough Iranian PKMs were produced. one Type-73 with a stick magazine next to a PK(M) can be seen in the image below, taken during the Iran-Iraq War.

The Type-73 is largely based on the Soviet PK light machine gun, but has been fitted with a very different feeding system capable of accepting both box and stick magazines, chambered for same the 7.62x54R cartridge used by the PK, ensuring munition for it is always available in conflict areas such as Syria and Iraq. While a large number were produced for the Korean People's Army, where it still sees use today, the machine gun's only documented export success is Iran. Other examples have been spotted in Zimbabwe and more recently Iraq, where it was in the hands of various Iran-backed militias including the aforementioned Kata'ib al-Imam Ali, which can be seen pictured with another Type-73 while posing next to dismantled IEDs below.

The images come amidst a flurry of newly confirmed North Korean armament in the Middle East, and shows just how pervasive the North's influence on the international arms trafficking market continues to be even as sanctions constrain its abilities more and more. When or where new evidence of North Korean weaponry will pop up next can only be guessed at, but the fact that it will is undeniable.

시리아 분쟁에서 분쟁 당사자들은 북한에서 개량하고 70년대와 80년대에 시리아에 판 소련 탱크인 T-54와 T-55를 운용했다. 북한식 구형 모델과 다르게 레이저 거리 측정기가 장착돼 있으며 14.5mm 대구경을 사용한다. (대다수의 경우 지금은 지상에서의 발사를 위해 사용한다).

N. Korean upgraded tanks still in use in Syrian Civil War

Influence, legacy of DPRK weapons industry extends beyond original Syrian government clients

 

 As the now almost four-year-long Syrian Civil War continues, the full extent of North Korea’s influence in Syria remains seen every day.

Pyonygang and Damascus’ warm relations have led Syria to make several acquisitions of North Korean weaponry in the past. While the Syrian Civil War rages on, the Assad regime, the Islamic State and other factions continue to use much of this equipment in the conflict.

Perhaps the most notable impact of the DPRK’s arms industry on Syria can be found in Syria’s once enormous tank fleet. Namely, the DPRK upgraded hundreds of Soviet-made T-54 and T-55 tanks for Syria in the late ’70s and early ’80s, with some even seeing use in the 1982 Lebanon War.

Although the entire T-54 fleet (including the examples upgraded by North Korea) was presumably retired years ago, the T-55s certainly were not and nowadays a tank spotted in the northern half of Syria shows marks of the DPRK’s military influence more often than not. The T-54s themselves were stored in depots for most of the civil war, but as more and more armor has been destroyed and shortages grow, an increasing number are being brought back into service.

After a large number of tanks were captured at the northern stronghold of Brigade 93 – an armored unit of the 17th Division of the Syrian Arab Army at Raqqa – the Islamic State became a major operator of T-55s upgraded by North Korea, and subsequently used them in the assault on Kobanê. This was not the first case of Pyongyang’s equipment ending up in unintended hands, however, as a MANPADS (man-portable air-defense system) of North Korean manufacture seen at Kshesh airbase testifies.

 

                                             IS fighter with SA-18 (9K38 Igla) MANPADS | Photo: Islamic State Twitter account (now inactive)

The fact that the specific tank upgraded was the T-54/55 is remarkable: North Korea’s indigenous tank industry is largely founded on copying and modernizing the later T-62 series main battle tank. In fact, the specific upgrade used in Syria appears to have been developed solely for export as this type has never been sighted in use within the Korean People’s Army.

Still, when one considers the tight bond between the two historical allies and the DPRK’s reliance on income from military exports, it is not entirely surprising that Damascus turned to Pyongyang when it needed its aging tank fleet modernized for a soft price. As declassified documents on conversations held in the embassy of the USSR about a 1973 conference in Pyongyang detail:

“The Deputy Foreign Minister presented a personal message from DPRK President Kim Il Sung to the Syrian President. Orally the Deputy Foreign Minister informed the DPRK is ready to provide Syria with any assistance it may want.

“For 9 October the Syrian ambassador was invited by Deputy Prime Minister Choe Jae-u (Choe Jae U” to come to another conversation. In this talk Choe Jae-u repeated the DPRK willingness to provide every possible assistance to the Arab peoples, including military support in an according fashion.”

Although the offer had no immediate effect on the Syrian Arab Army’s arsenal, it is evident the Syrian government had a change of heart over the following decade.

Features of the upgrade included the installment of North Korean-designed laser rangefinders and some modifications to the turret; some even came equipped with smoke launchers and the legacy 14.5mm KPV heavy machine gun seen on nearly all DPRK’s tanks. Aside from the characteristic laser rangefinder, exclusively seen on North Korean tanks, the KPV is an important giveaway as it is not normally used on the ubiquitous Soviet tank series used in so many countries. It is unknown if Islamic State fighters are able to use the laser rangefinder, as it requires training to operate

 

                                                   Kim Jong Il inspecting a tank equipped with a laser range finder | Photo: KCTV

While most of the Syrian tanks saw their KPV removed to be used on pickup trucks, a small portion of the tanks continue to carry it. While the KPV was originally installed to increase the tank’s protection against enemy fighter-bombers and helicopters, it mainly sees use against ground forces nowadays.

Other exports of the DPRK to Syria reportedly included the delivery of heavy artillery systems such as the BM-11 122mm multiple rocket launcher. However, none of these systems have been spotted during the civil war, and it is presumed they have been decommissioned.

With more and more footage emerging from clashing forces within Syria, new weapons systems once exported by North Korea continue to come to light. Whatever effect they may have on the ultimate course of the war, it is certain that even today the influence of the DPRK on conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere is not to be underestimated.

 

 

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