North Korea is estimated to operate some 2,500 armored vehicles with their maximum speeds faster than those of South Korean vehicles, a report showed Monday.

According to the report by Seoul's Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, the communist country's fleet of armored vehicles as of the end of last year was up nearly 300 units from two years earlier.

Most of the North's armored vehicles have come from China and Russia, with major models including such armored personnel carriers as the VTT-323 M-1973 and BTR-60P, according to the report.

The tracked VTT-323 M-1973 vehicles modeled after China's YW-531 carrier feature a welded-steel hull with a small turret that mounts a 14.5-millimeter and 7.72mm machine gun with a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour.

The BTR-60P wheeled tanks manufactured by Russia's Arzamas Machinery Plant are fully amphibious and can run at a maximum speed of 80 km/h on the ground and 10 km/h on the water, according to the report.

South Korea, meanwhile, has about 2,700 units of the K200 and K21 armored vehicles. The K200 has an operational range of 480 kilometers and a top speed of 74 km/h, while the K21 has a range of 500km and a top speed of 70 km/h, the data showed.

The comprehensive report includes information on the armored vehicles of 36 countries, including the U.S., Russia and Germany. (Yonhap)