Russia, North Korea open first cross-border road bridge as partnership deepens

On September 7, Russia and North Korea inaugurated the inaugural road bridge spanning their shared border, signifying an intensifying relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Prime Minister Park Thae-song participated in the virtual ceremony, with Mishustin hailing the opening as a significant boost for trade, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural collaboration.

The two nations' ties have notably strengthened due to North Korea's backing of Russia's Ukrainian war, with Pyongyang contributing troops, artillery shells, and missiles to Moscow's military campaign.

The 1-kilometer bridge traverses the Tumen River, linking Khasan in Russia's eastern Primorsky Krai with North Korea's Tumangang. This crossing has been named after Yakov Novichenko, a Soviet officer believed to have rescued then-North Korean leader Kim Il Sung from an assassination attempt in 1946. Prior to this, Russia's sole land link to North Korea was the Friendship railway bridge, erected in 1959, situated near the new road crossing.

Moscow and Pyongyang have both claimed that the new bridge is exclusively for trade and non-military purposes, although experts have raised doubts about these assertions.

In June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un concluded a strategic partnership agreement, just a few months before North Korea deployed thousands of soldiers to assist Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk Oblast. North Korea has been a crucial source of artillery shells for Russia and an important supplier of ballistic missiles, receiving financial compensation and technology in exchange.

Ukrainian intelligence hinted in August that Russia might solicit additional North Korean troops for the war, with reports suggesting up to 50,000 more could be requested.