North Korea unveils copy of Canadian armored vehicle

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has opened a new national defense museum packed with the country’s missiles, rocket launchers and drones, and among the exhibits is a previously unseen 4×4 armored vehicle that closely resembles the Canadian-made Roshel Senator used by Ukraine.

State news agency KCNA reported on Oct. 13 that Kim attended the opening of the Defense Revolution Museum, run by the Second Economy Commission that oversees North Korea’s arms industry, on Oct. 11 and vowed to keep developing the country’s weapons. KCNA quoted him calling the museum a “precious monument” and did not give its size or location, though photos suggest at least part of it was built underground, with weapons lined up in long, tunnel-like halls.

The new armored vehicle shown in KCNA photos shares the overall layout and several hull details of the Senator, a Canadian armored car built on a Ford F-550 truck chassis that Roshel has supplied to Ukraine in large numbers. The North Korean version appears to have a lengthened body, suggesting it has been adapted to carry more troops in the back. KCNA did not name the vehicle or give any details about its protection, engine or how many are in service.

North Korean troops know the Senator from the battlefield. Ukrainian units used Senators during their incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August 2024, where thousands of North Korean soldiers later fought alongside Russian forces to push Ukraine out. Russian troops have captured several Senators intact or lightly damaged, including one taken by naval infantry in the Kursk region that month, and a captured vehicle may have been handed to North Korea, which now appears to be building its own version. Roshel has delivered more than 2,000 Senators to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, and open-source tracking project Oryx had documented 182 in Mrap version and  83 Senator IMV of them destroyed, damaged or captured by the end of 2025.

The museum’s largest exhibit is the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile, which North Korea has displayed but not yet flight-tested, shown with a world map suggesting it could reach the United States and beyond. Visitors also see a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, the 600 mm super-large multiple rocket launcher and a range of drones developed under Kim’s rule.

Kim opened the museum a day after North Korea test-fired what KCNA described as a tactical ballistic missile, which state media said brought “an important change” in improving all of the country’s weapons systems. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi condemned the launch. The museum opening also came as U.S. President Donald Trump said he might meet Kim during a planned trip to Asia in mid-November.