North Korean artists perform during a concert while a video shows soldiers holding Russian and North Korean flags, during a visit of Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova to Pyongyang on 29 June 2025. Photo: EPA/KCNA

North Korea is set to triple its troop presence alongside the Russian military by sending a further 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers to the front line of the war with Ukraine, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing Ukrainian officials.

According to the Ukrainian intelligence assessment seen by CNN, the new troops could arrive in Russia “in the coming months” before being deployed to Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine to “strengthen the Russian contingent, including during the large-scale offensive operations”.

The assessment noted signs that Russia was preparing to move large numbers of troops from North Korea, including refitting military aircraft to carry personnel, CNN said. Satellite imagery also showed the arrival of a ship previously used to transfer North Korean soldiers at a Russian port and cargo aircraft at Pyongyang Airport, the network added.

An unnamed Western official who had seen “information separate to the Ukrainian assessment” confirmed Kyiv’s estimate of 30,000 troops being sent to Russia, CNN said.

CNN’s report follows a similar assessment last week by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, with officials in Seoul stating that Pyongyang had begun recruiting additional troops to send to Russia and could deploy them as early as July or August.

Last year, Russia and North Korea signed a comprehensive partnership agreement that reportedly contained a secret clause allowing Pyongyang to send military personnel to the war in Ukraine.

Since then, South Korean and Western intelligence agencies have repeatedly documented the involvement of over 10,000 North Korean troops in battle against Ukrainian soldiers, with some 600 estimated to have been killed.

On Tuesday, North Korean state media released images of dictator Kim Jong Un publicly mourning soldiers killed fighting for Russia during a gala concert in Pyongyang to mark the first anniversary of the partnership agreement between the two countries.

Moscow and Pyongyang in April confirmed for the first time that North Korean troops had fought “shoulder to shoulder” alongside Russian servicemen as they recaptured the country’s southwestern Kursk region from Ukrainian forces.

Then, Kim announced that a monument to the North Korean soldiers who fought in Kursk would be erected in Pyongyang to honour their “heroism and bravery”, with Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora later saying that Russia would name streets and build “beautiful monuments to the Korean heroes” in Kursk as a sign of its gratitude.