Russia, North Korea start building first road link amid growing alliance
Russia and North Korea have announced the construction of their first-ever road bridge on the Tumen River, which is expected to help boost bilateral relations between the two countries.
The bridge will be 1 kilometer long, and its construction is expected to take one and a half years, the Tass news agency reported Thursday.
“We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue,” Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.
“The significance goes far beyond just an engineering task… it symbolizes our common desire to strengthen friendly, good-neighborly relations and increase inter-regional cooperation,” he added.
In a video call with the chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly Pak Thae-song, Mishustin also called it a “truly a milestone for Russian-Korean relations”.
The North Korean official hailed the project as “a historic monument” in bilateral ties between Russia and North Korea.
“It will become an eternal historical memorial structure symbolizing the unbreakable Korean-Russian friendly relations,” Pak said.
North Korea’s central news agency also confirmed the news on Thursday, adding that the country looks forward to expanding cross-border travel of people, tourism, and circulation of commodities through the awaited road link.
One railway bridge and air service already connect North Korea and Russia.
During a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in June 2024, the two countries agreed to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen River, which runs along North Korea’s borders with Russia and China.
On Thursday, Russia and North Korea simultaneously held a ceremony in their respective border cities, celebrating the initiation of the project that will be poised for rollout by mid-2026.
North Korea and Russia have enhanced bilateral ties in recent years in a bid to circumvent sanctions, to which both countries are subjected.
The Asian side has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024 amid slowly easing pandemic curbs.
In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia.
Earlier this week, North Korea publicly confirmed its military support for Russia, acknowledging the deployment of 15,000 troops to assist Russia in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
According to a South Korean government intelligence assessment shared with lawmakers on Wednesday, 4,700 soldiers have been killed or wounded.
The assessment also reveals that Russia has reportedly provided Pyongyang with air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones, and technology for spy satellite launches.
