Vladimir Putin has admitted for the first time that he is in talks with Kim Jong-un on how to deploy North Korean soldiers against Ukrainian forces.

The Russian leader made the disclosure at the end of the Brics summit in Kazan, Russia, after it failed to produce the enlarged anti-West bloc the Kremlin had promised.

Moscow had wanted to impress its Western adversaries with a minimum of 12 new members signing up to the bloc in a “Brics Big Bang”.

However, the move appeared to have failed and, at a press conference closing the three-day event, Putin avoided answering how many countries had signed up.

“There are many countries that are showing interest. We have agreed on our partners, we have agreed on such a list,” he said. “We are going to send out invitations and proposals to future partner nations.”

Putin’s comments came a few hours after Russia’s lower house of parliament passed a Russia-North Korea “mutual military assistance” Bill on Thursday.

The Russian president agreed the deal with Kim earlier this year and Russia’s upper house of parliament is also likely to pass it within the next few days, potentially allowing North Korean soldiers to fight against Ukrainian forces.

Revealing the talks with Kim, Putin said at the Brics conference: “North Korea is serious about its commitment to us … We are in contact with our North Korean partners.”

US intelligence estimates that Russian forces are training up to 3,000 North Korean soldiers, although Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has claimed the final contingent could be as large as 15,000 troops.

In response, South Korea has said it is considering sending military officers to Ukraine as advisers.