Russia and North Korea have opened their first road bridge linking the two countries, in a development Moscow and Pyongyang described as a major step in strengthening their growing strategic relationship.
The 1-kilometre, two-lane bridge crosses the Tumen River along the countries’ border and was formally opened on Monday during a ceremony attended virtually by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song.
The first trucks, decorated with the flags of both countries, crossed the new bridge during the ceremony, marking the beginning of road-based cargo movement between the two nations.
Construction of the bridge started in April 2025, following an agreement reached during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea in 2024.
Although Russia and North Korea already have direct air and rail connections, they previously lacked a dedicated road crossing.
Vehicles had instead used temporary planks placed on the neighbouring railway bridge under a special arrangement dating back to 1959.
Mishustin said the new infrastructure would help expand cooperation between the two countries.
“I am convinced that the expansion of cross-border transport infrastructure will provide a powerful impetus for the further development of trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation,” he said.
Describing relations between Moscow and Pyongyang as being “at an unprecedented high level”, Mishustin called the bridge’s opening “a genuinely historic event.”
He added that the project represented more than an engineering achievement, saying it was “a new symbol of friendship”.
According to Mishustin, the bridge can accommodate as many as 300 vehicles daily and will be connected to Russia’s federal road network, providing access to a major transport corridor stretching from Vladivostok in the Far East to St Petersburg.
Cargo trucks are expected to begin using the crossing immediately, while passenger traffic is scheduled to commence once the bridge becomes fully operational towards the end of the year.
The new crossing stands close to the existing Friendship Bridge, a railway bridge that has connected the two countries since 1959, following the Korean War.
The road bridge has been named after Yakov Novichenko, a Red Army soldier whom North Korea credits with saving the life of its founding leader, Kim Il Sung, in 1946 by intercepting a grenade thrown at him and others.
North Korean state media KCNA said the new bridge would provide infrastructure for expanding economic cooperation, including tourism, trade and exchanges between people in both countries.
Relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have intensified since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
North Korea has subsequently provided military support to Russia, including sending thousands of troops to the Kursk region to help Russian forces counter a Ukrainian incursion in 2024.
Mishustin referred to that cooperation during the bridge-opening ceremony, praising “the Korean heroes who, only recently, fought shoulder to shoulder with our soldiers and defended Russian soil”.
South Korean academic Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the new infrastructure highlighted the weakening impact of international sanctions on North Korea.
“While North Korea is trying to maximise its own interests, Russia has secured a direct road route for the transport of military supplies, ammunition and manpower, including troops, for its prolonged war in Ukraine.”
The opening of the bridge therefore carries significance beyond trade and transportation, as it provides the two increasingly aligned countries with another direct route for economic and potentially strategic cooperation.
