Type 58 assault rifle Type 58 assault rifle The Type 58 is an assault rifle made in North Korea derived from the Soviet AK-47 designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It uses a 7.62×39mm cartridge. It is the longest version of the rifle at 890 mm, while the AK-47 is 870 mm. After the Korean War (1950–1953), North Korea was allied with the Soviet Union and continued to receive military support from them. President Kim Il-sung ordered the fabrication of the Type 58. The gun was used in the Vietnam War, along with the AK-47, AKM and China's Type 56 by Vietcong and North Vietnam Army
Assault rifle and the 5.45×39mm cartridge. AK-74 production began in 1974, and it was unveiled in 1977, when it was carried by Soviet parachute troops during the annual Red Square parade. It would soon replace the AKM and become the standard Soviet infantry rifle. In 1979, the AK-74 saw combat for the first time in Afghanistan, where the lethality of the 5.45mm rounds led to the Mujahadeen dubbing them "poison bullets." The adoption of the 5.56mm NATO and the Russian 5.45×39mm cartridges cemented the worldwide trend toward small caliber, high velocity cartridges. In 1977, Austria introduced the 5.56×45mm Steyr AUG bullpup rifle,