North Korea, Russia open first road bridge in ‘new symbol of friendship’

North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge on Monday in a carefully choreographed display of friendship, a structure which spans the Tumen river and which both sides cast as an important milestone ‌in their deepening strategic partnership. The first flag-adorned trucks trundled across the 1 km (0.6-mile) long two-lane bridge as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korea’s Premier Pak Thae Song tuned in by video link to address workers and government officials from both... Ukraine is worried the road bridge could be used to conceal military personnel and weapons in vehicles, rather than a trade route.

Russia and North Korea opened the first road bridge across their shared border on Monday, a development Russian officials hailed as boosting the nations’ deepening ties. The bridge over the Tumen River is 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long and has two lanes and will allow up to 300 vehicles a day to pass through a newly built border crossing point, the Russian government said in a statement. “I am convinced that the expansion of transport infrastructure near the border will give a powerful boost to the further development of trade, economic, technological, scientific and cultural cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, who took part in the opening ceremony via video link.

Relations and exchange programs between Russia and North Korea have been flourishing in recent years, with North Korea supplying ammunitions and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. North Korea has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024 amid slowly easing pandemic curbs. North Korea and Russia, which are already served by a railway bridge and air service, agreed in 2024 to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen River, which runs along North Korea’s borders with Russia and China.

Russia and North Korea have heavily boosted military and economic ties since Moscow launched its Ukraine offensive. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin presided over a ceremony via video link to mark the official launch of traffic along the bridge.