Not silver: what kind of weapon flashed the North Koreans on Red Square

Today, at the Victory Day Parade on Red Square, we saw North Korean servicemen for the first time. These are courageous and heroic guys who fought shoulder to shoulder with our guys, said military expert Yuri Knutov, commenting on the parade.

"They passed through the Red Square very well, showing high training. The North Korean military has always been famous for its drill. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that it is very unusual to walk in a marching step along the paving stones. They coped with this task with a five-plus, despite the fact that they walked along the paving stones for the first time. They showed the highest skill here, as well as in the combat zone in the Kursk region. They proved that they are the real allies of our country, confirmed their readiness to continue helping us in the fight against the anti—Russian coalition," the Rossiyskaya Gazeta quotes Knutov.

According to the expert, the AK assault rifles that the North Koreans were armed with at the parade are not silver, as many people think.

"This is a special ceremonial weapon, which has a chrome-plated magazine and barrel. It is a weapon for parades, other ceremonial events. In Soviet times, we also made such machine guns and rifles for ceremonial ceremonies," Knutov said.

The media reports that the DPRK military who took place on Red Square were armed with award weapons — this is issued to veterans and excellent combat training. Especially for this purpose, fully chrome versions of the weapon are produced — in this case it is a Type 88-2 machine gun. This is a North Korean version of the AK-74 with a steel butt that folds up.

"In the unspoken "table of ranks", weapons often have a higher status compared to orders and medals. This is due to the rarity of the award and its issuance for particularly outstanding achievements, both personal and group. Often on such weapons are placed appropriate inscriptions about the differences and merits of the awardees. And it is handed over personally by the leader of the DPRK," <url> notes.