Type 68 assault rifle

The Type 68 (Korean: 68식자동보총, also known as Type 68 NK) is an assault rifle made in North Korea derived from the Soviet AKM designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov

Type 68
The Type 68 rifle put alongside a Type 58
Type	Assault rifle
Place of origin	North Korea
Service history
In service	1968–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Vietnam War Salvadoran Civil War Nicaraguan Revolution United States invasion of Grenada[1] Syrian Civil War[2]
Production history
Designer	Mikhail Kalashnikov[a]
Manufacturer	Factory 61/65
Produced	1968 -
Specifications
Cartridge	7.62×39mm
Action	Gas-operated
Rate of fire	600–650 rounds/min[3]
Feed system	30-round detachable AK magazines
Sights	Iron sights

History

The Type 68 was adopted in 1968 to replace the Type 58^[4] since it was too time-consuming to produce the Type 58.

Design

Main articles: AKM and Type 58 assault rifle

The Type 68 was made with features from the Type 58 with features such as the solid catalpa wood stock, wood pistol grip, handguards and smooth sheet-steel top covers.

The Type 68 has a swivel retaining bracket spot-welded on the left side of the receiver. The pistol grip stud and lower stock tang are riveted in place. The milled gas block is flat on both sides and, like the Type 58, has a sling swivel that extends outward from the left side.

The rear sights are graduated to a distance of 800 meters. The trigger group is not based on the Soviet AKM. Instead, the trigger is a double-hook design based on milled receiver-based AKs.^[5]

The Type 68 has no rate reducer^[6] and has a barrel length of 415 mm with a velocity of 715 m/s.^[7] Its practical rate of fire is at 40-100 RPM.^[7] While it has a sight range of 800 meters, its effective range is at 300 to 400 meters.^[7]

While Type 68s used hangul markings in the fire selectors, exported versions uses non-hangul markings with 1 for semi-auto and an infinity symbol for automatic fire.^[5] The markings consist of a five-point star in a circle and Type 68 in hangul.^[5]

The Type 68 can use 20-round magazines aside from 30-round magazines with the capability to fire rifle grenades, based on the PGN-60 and the KGN.^[8]

The Type 68 has its own bayonet, which is based on the 6KH3, but has a different pommel mount for it.^[9] These bayonets were also issued in Cuba, which have green scabbards instead of tan scabbards, which is used in the Korean People's Army.^[10]

Variant

Type 68-1

The Type 68-1 features an underfolding stock like the AKMS with holes in it to help reduce overall weight.^[11] It also has the Soviet underfolding design with stamped steel struts and buttplate.

Adoption

The Type 68 was reported to be exported to the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front covertly in the 1980s.

In 1986 the Peruvian government imported 20,000 Type 68 rifles for US$97^[b] (equivalent to $278 in 2024) each. In 1988, 20,000 more were imported and issued to police and paramilitary forces.^[12]

• 
  Type 68 in DPRK service
• 
  Type 68 in DPRK service
• 
  Type 68 in DPRK service
• 
  Type 68 in DPRK service
• 
  A North Korean Social Security Forces soldier with a chrome-plated Type 68-1 rifle
• 
  PAVN soldiers with their Type 68 rifles

Users

• Cuba
  • Provided free of charge due to allegations that the Soviet Union did not want to honor Cuban orders for AK-47s^[8]
• Ethiopia
  • North Korea provided assistance to set up Type 68 production lines in the 1980s^[13]
• Grenada
  • Recovered by US troops after Operation Urgent Fury.
• North Korea
• Nicaragua
  • Sandinista Popular Army/Ejército Popular Sandinista
    • In addition to receiving Type 58s and Type 68s, they also received Type 68 magazine pouches and slings.^[14]
• Peru
  • Formely used by paratroopers^[12]
  • Currently used by Peruvian National Police, most refurbished by Desarrollos Industriales Casanave^[15]
    • Around 200 were modernized by DC as of 2012^[15]
• Syria
  • Imported prior to the Syrian Civil War^[2]
  • Produced under license^[16]
• Togo
  • Type 68^[17]
• Vietnam
  • Reported to be used by the former North Vietnamese military in the 1960s^[18]

Non-State Actors

• Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
  • Also received Type 68 slings and ammunition pouches, probably from Nicaragua
• Islamic State
  • At least 18 Type 68 rifles were found in a weapons stash in northeast Syria in 2022^[2]