North Korea has publicly displayed a new mobile anti-tank missile system for the first time, showcasing it as part of its annual “Defence Development 2025” exhibition in Pyongyang — an event that leader Kim Jong Un described as a presentation of the country’s “results” in modernizing and expanding its military capabilities.
The exhibition featured a modern, long-range, multi-purpose missile system designed to destroy advanced armored vehicles, fortifications, engineering structures, and enemy personnel.
Mounted on a 4×4 wheeled vehicle, the platform is equipped with a launcher carrying six guided missiles believed to be the Bulsae-4 — a system widely regarded as a North Korean analogue to Israel’s Spike NLOS.
The Bulsae-4 missile, equipped with an electro-optical guidance system, is designed for precision strikes from standoff distances. It features a top-attack mode that allows it to target the weakest points of armored vehicles — the upper sections — where protection is typically the thinnest. According to details shown at the exhibition, the system is capable of striking targets at ranges from 10 to 25 kilometers.
The missile complex has already been used in combat during Russia’s war against Ukraine. North Korean anti-tank teams have reportedly employed the Bulsae-4 against Ukrainian positions and armored vehicles. On July 30, 2024, Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance identified the Bulsae-4 M-2018 system in service with Russian forces in the Shebekino district of Russia’s Belgorod region — a finding later confirmed by Pyongyang.
The system’s deployment was further documented in a state-produced film shown during an awards ceremony honoring members of the Korean People’s Army’s overseas operational units. The documentary included footage of a previously unseen launcher repeatedly firing Bulsae-4 missiles against Ukrainian armored vehicles in the Kursk border region during late 2024 and early 2025.