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
Comparison of the AK-47 and M16 ramp section on M4 type rifles." This allows for a dramatic 300% increase in the number of rounds fired between stoppages. AK-47 type rifles are made in dozens of countries, with "quality ranging from finely engineered weapons to pieces of questionable workmanship." As a result, the AK-47 has a service/system life of approximately 6,000, to 10,000, to 15,000 rounds. The AK-47 was designed to be a cheap, simple, easy to manufacture assault rifle, perfectly matching Soviet military doctrine that treats equipment and weapons as disposable items. As units are often deployed without adequate logistical support and dependent on "battlefield cannibalization"