North Korea to send 30,000 troops to Ukraine frontlines in support of Russia: Report

North Korea is preparing to triple its troop presence alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, with plans to send up to 30,000 soldiers to support Moscow, according to a CNN report, citing a Ukrainian intelligence assessment.

As many as 11,000 North Korean soldiers had helped Russia repel Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk region. Of those, 4,000 were killed or injured in the deployment, according to the report, citing Western officials, yet Pyongyang’s cooperation with Moscow has since bloomed.

According to CNN, the new batch troops is likely to arrive in Russia in the coming months.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence is prepared to supply North Korean forces with the necessary equipment, weapons, and ammunition to enable their integration into Russian combat units, reported CNN, citing a Ukrainian intelligence assessment.

The report suggests there is a strong likelihood that these troops will be deployed to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine and participate in large-scale offensive operations to reinforce Russian forces.

The assessment, issued by Ukraine’s defence intelligence agency, also points to evidence that Russian military aircraft are being modified to transport personnel — a sign of the scale involved in relocating tens of thousands of foreign troops across Russian Siberia, which borders North Korea in the far southeast.

Deployment underway?

Satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows potential preparations for the deployment, including the arrival of a ship previously linked to troop movements at a Russian port and cargo aircraft activity at North Korea’s Sunan airport.

North Korea initially deployed 11,000 soldiers to Russia in the fall of 2024, a move kept secret until Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed it publicly in April 2025.

In October, images showed North Korean troops receiving frontline equipment at the Sergeevka military base in Russia’s Primorskyi Krai.

A month later, a Ropucha-class Russian landing ship, capable of carrying up to 400 troops, docked at Dunai port near Nakhodka, about 95 kilometers (59 miles) to the southwest, reported CNN, citing analysts.

Satellite imagery provided to CNN by the UK-based Open Source Centre, which focuses on defence and security intelligence, shows that another Ropucha-class ship returned to the same port on May 18.

Flight patterns also indicate that additional troop movements may be underway.

Satellite imagery from North Korea’s Sunan airport, captured on June 4 and shared with CNN by the Open Source Centre, shows cargo planes — possibly IL-76s — taxiing on the runway.

According to CNN, these are the same aircraft types used during last year’s deployments.

While the imagery does not confirm the purpose of the ships or planes, analysts note the activity mirrors patterns seen in previous troop movements, added the report.

“Satellite imagery shows a Russian personnel carrier arriving at Dunai in May, and activity at Sunan airport in May and June,” CNN quoted Joe Byrne, senior analyst at the Open Source Centre, as saying.

“This appears to indicate the routes previously used to move DPRK troops are active, and could be used in any large-scale future transfer of personnel,” he added.

With inputs from agencies