Russia and North Korea open the first road link across shared border

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. Construction began last year.