North Korea and Russia open first road bridge, symbol of closer cooperation

North Korea and Russia have opened their first road bridge in a carefully choreographed display of friendship. The bridge, which spans the Tumen River, was hailed by both sides as a major milestone in their deepening strategic partnership.

The first trucks decorated with flags crossed the one-kilometer-long, two-lane bridge, while Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Prime Minister Pak Tae Song addressed workers and government officials from both countries via video link, Reuters reports.

Construction of the new bridge, which has been discussed for years, began in April last year, after the project was agreed during President Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea in 2024. There are already direct air and rail links between Moscow and Pyongyang, but until Monday there was no corresponding road link.

Instead, since 1959, under a special arrangement, planks have been placed across the nearby railway bridge - which for decades was the only border crossing - so that vehicles could cross the border between the two countries.

"I am convinced that the expansion of cross-border transport infrastructure will give a powerful impetus to the further development of trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation," Mishustin said, noting that relations between Moscow and Pyongyang are "at an unprecedentedly high level," and calling the opening of the bridge "a truly historic event."

Building the bridge was not just an engineering project, he said, but also "a new symbol of friendship."

Mishustin said the bridge would be able to handle up to 300 vehicles per day and would be connected to Russia's federal road network, with easy access to the transport corridor connecting the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok with St. Petersburg.

The Russian government said trucks will immediately begin using the bridge for freight transport. By the end of this year, the bridge should be fully operational and available for passenger traffic.

The bridge was built near the existing "Friendship Bridge", a railway bridge that opened to traffic in 1959, after the Korean War.

Symbolically, the new bridge is named after Yakov Novichenko, a Red Army soldier who Pyongyang claims protected the life of North Korea's first leader, Kim Il Sung, in 1946 by intercepting a bomb dropped on him and others present.

Relations between the two countries have further strengthened since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, and Pyongyang sent thousands of troops to Russia's Kursk region to help repel a Ukrainian incursion in 2024.

Mishustin referred to this in his speech, mentioning "Korean heroes who until recently fought shoulder to shoulder with our soldiers and defended Russian land."