Russia and North Korea have described the building of a bridge connecting the two countries as a "significant occasion," strengthening their "friendly relations," Korean state media KCNA reported on May 1.
The 4.7-kilometer (3 miles) road bridge will span the Tumen River and cross the border between Russia and North Korea. The bridge is expected to be completed in 18 months time, with a border checkpoint nearby to facilitate crossings.
"The construction of the motor bridge serves as a significant occasion in adding fresh dynamics to the development of the friendly relations between the two countries," KCNA said.
North Korea has been one of Russia's staunchest supporters since the full-scale war in Ukraine began. Their economic and military cooperation has only deepened and the two countries ratified a mutual defense treaty in November.
The ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of the bridge, which took place on April 30 in Khasan and Rason, Russian and North Korean borderland cities, was attended by high-ranking officials from Pyongyang and Moscow.
During the ceremony, Russian Vice Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev highlighted the bridge as another "road of friendship" between the two nations, Russian state media TASS reported on April 30.
"Today, our relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are growing stronger. This bridge will be another road of friendship," Trutnev said.
Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also attended the groundbreaking ceremony, calling the project a key step in strengthening relations between the two countries.
Currently, the only link between Russia and North Korea is a railway bridge, and pyair services.
North Korean troops have been fighting alongside Moscow's forces against Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast since December 2024, after Kyiv launched an incursion into the region in August of the same year.
Moscow and Pyongyang officially acknowledged the deployment previously this week, as Ukrainian troops were reportedly forced out of most of the oblast, though Kyiv has said some fighting is still ongoing.
Pyongyang has deployed some 14,000 troops to Russia, mostly consisting of its special operations unit — the figure includes 3,000 that North Korea sent this year to replenish the casualties taken on the battlefield, the New York Times reported on April 27, citing South Korean officials.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
