Pyongyang [North Korea], July 2 : North Korea plans to triple its troop deployment to Russia to support its military efforts in Ukraine. An additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers are expected to arrive in Russia in the coming months, CNN reported, citing a Ukrainian intelligence assessment.
This new deployment would add to the 11,000 North Korean troops sent to Russia in November, who helped repel Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
However, Western officials estimate that around 4,000 of those soldiers were killed or injured during the deployment, as per CNN.
The Ukrainian assessment highlighted that the Russian Ministry of Defence is capable of providing "needed equipment, weapons and ammunition" with the aim of "further integration to Russian combat units."
The document adds "there is a great possibility" the North Korean troops will be engaged in combat in parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine, to strengthen the Russian contingent, including during the large-scale offensive operations.
According to CNN, the assessment also says there are signs that Russian military aircraft are being refitted to carry personnel, reflecting the vast undertaking of moving tens of thousands of foreign troops across Russian Siberia, which shares a border with North Korea in its far southwest.
Recent satellite images have captured possible preparations for North Korea's new troop deployment to Russia. The images show a ship linked to previous deployments arriving at a Russian port and a cargo aircraft at North Korea's Sunan airport.
North Korea initially sent 11,000 troops to Russia in the fall of 2024, with Russian President Vladimir Putin only confirming the deployment in late April. In October, North Korean soldiers were pictured being handed equipment for the frontlines at the Sergeevka military base in Primorskyi Krai.
Furthermore, according to the analyst's statement, a month later, a Ropucha-class Russian ship docked at the Dunai port near Nakhodka, approximately 95 kilometres (59 miles) southwest of there, which could carry up to 400 troops, analysts said.
The same type of troop-transporting Ropucha ship again docked at the same Dunai port on May 18, CNN confirmed, citing satellite images by the Open Source Centre, a UK-based non-profit specialising in open-source intelligence related to defence and security.