The Type 73 is a 7.62x54R caliber light machine gun based on Soviet PK that equipped by the Korean People's Army in the late 1970s. In order to simplify processing, there is no rate reducer (a safety device in fact) in its trigger assembly, so the theoretical firing rate will be slightly higher than AKM. The difference lies in the use of the term 'rifle': North Korea uses a more Chinese like 보총/步銃, while South Korea uses a more Japanese like 소총/小銃. The word 'Bochongsu/보총수' actually shares the same meaning with South Korean ' Sochong-Su/소총수'.