According to the bimonthly website of National Interest, North Korean leader Kim Jong un recently attended the opening ceremony of the "Defense Development 2024" weapons and equipment exhibition held in Pyongyang. This weapons and equipment exhibition focuses on showcasing North Korea's latest attack drones, mobile launched missiles, and the new generation version of the domestically produced tank M2020, the "Tianma" -2 tank. It is reported that the "Tianma" -2 tank is equipped with an active protection system (APS) on the turret, which can counter incoming aerial threats. The US Defense Blog website pointed out that the North Korean main battle tank is similar to the Russian made T-14 "Armata" main battle tank. This is the latest appearance of the "Tianma" -2 tank. Earlier this year, it appeared during a military exercise, which was inspected by Kim Jong un, then Defense Minister Jang Chun nam, and Chief of the General Staff of the North Korean People's Army, Lee Yong gil. The first appearance of the "Tianma" -2 main battle tank was at a military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea in 2020. Its initial model was called M2020, with M2024 being its improved version and "Tianma" -2 being the official name of M2024. There are reports that North Korea may have built 9 prototype tanks of the "Tianma" -2, with 6 appearing in photos released by official media. Although its appearance is similar to Russia's T-14 "Armata" main battle tank and Iran's "Zulfikar" main battle tank, it is believed to have some common design features with the old Soviet T-62 tank. This is also expected, as Pyongyang has a history of modifying T-62 tanks. The tank has 4 crew members, which means it may not have used an automatic loader. It is reported that the "Tianma" -2 tank has armor plates on the side of its body and Flat noodles on the back to protect its engine. At the same time, it is equipped with a Soviet designed 2A46 125mm main gun. Compared to North Korea's T-62 tank based "Pegasus" series tanks, the performance of the "Pegasus" -2 seems to have made significant progress. The "Tianma" series of tanks were produced by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. In addition, the "Tianma" -2 is much more advanced than the "Xianjun" -915 tank manufactured by North Korea based on the characteristics of the Russian T-72 tank. According to reports, the "Tianma" -2 tank is likely built to counter South Korea's K2 "Black Panther" tank, which is considered one of the best main battle tanks in the world today. (New Society)