Type 73 light machine gun

Type 73
Type	Light machine gun
Place of origin	North Korea
Service history
Used by	See Users
Wars	Iranian intervention in Iraq (2014–present)
Production history
Designer	First Machine Industry Bureau
Specifications
Weight	10.6 kg
Length	1190 mm
Barrel length	608 mm
Cartridge	7.62×54mmR
Caliber	7.62 mm
Action	Gas
Rate of fire	600-700 RPM
Feed system	Box magazine Belt
Sights	Iron

The Type 73 is a light machine gun designed and manufactured by North Korea's First Machine Industry Bureau for use by the Korean People's Army.

The Type 73 is based on a 1960s-era Soviet design, most likely the PK machine gun, although the date of its first production in North Korea is currently unknown. The weapon was reportedly seen in the Korean Demilitarized Zone in 2002, when a United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission team told media outlets that North Korean soldiers had set up numerous Type 73s in positions 100 to 400 meters north of the demarcation line. The weapons were reportedly removed at the end of each day.

Due the North Korean government's policy of secrecy, information on the weapon is hard to obtain. One example has been acquired by South Korea. North Korean officials were apparently not satisfied with the weapon, and by 1982 they had developed the Type 82 machine gun, which was more directly copied from the PKM's design. This seemed to replace the Type 73 in front-line service, as it was seen in use less since the early-1980s, though it was possibly moved to reserve or militia service. Many were supplied to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War, and some of these have in turn been supplied to Iranian-backed groups engaged in fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Since mid-2015, North Korean or Iranian-built copies of belt-fed Type 73s have been seen in use by Iranian-supported militias like the Popular Mobilization Forces, as well as other factions including the Christian Babylon Brigades that somehow acquired the weapons. By early-2016, they were being used in Syria and by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The design is heavily based on the 1960s-era Soviet PK machine gun. However, the Type 73 does have certain indigenous modifications, including a dual magazine/belt feed system, patterned after the Czechoslovak Vz.52 LMG, and removable muzzle sleeves; the Type 73 can use the same ammunition belt as the PKM. One unusual feature is a special barrel attachment to enable the gun to fire rifle grenades.

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