North Korea and Russia begin building their first road link
[May 01, 2025] By
HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea and Russia have begun building
their first road link, the two countries announced, hailing the
construction of a bridge over a border river as a major development that
will further expand their booming ties.
Russia's Tass news agency reported that the bridge would be 1 kilometer
(0.6 mile) long and its construction is expected to take 1 ½ years.
North Korea's Korean Central News Agency said Thursday the bridge would
expand cross-border travel of people, tourism and circulation of
commodities.
Relations and exchange programs between the two countries 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, but Chinese group tours, which made up
more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled.
In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while
1.2% was with Russia. There are currently at least 17 active road and
rail links across the long, porous border between North Korea and China,
according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.
One railway bridge and air service already connect North Korea and
Russia, and in June 2024 the two countries agreed to construct a bridge
for automobiles over the Tumen River, which runs along North Korea’s
borders with Russia and China.
On Thursday, North Korea and Russia simultaneously held a
ground-breaking ceremony for the bridge’s construction in their
respective border cities, according to the two countries’ state media
agencies. The agencies said North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song and
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin attended the ceremony via video
links.
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This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows a a
ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a bridge between
North Korea and Russia, in Rason Municipality, North Kora Wednesday,
April 30, 2025. Persons are not identified. Independent journalists
were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image
distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this
image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean
language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA"
which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean
Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Pak said the bridge’s construction would be remembered as “a
historic monument" in bilateral ties, KCNA reported Thursday.
“This is a big milestone for Russian-Korean relation,” Russian Prime
Minister Mikhail Mishustin said, according to Tass. “We are creating
a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a
road for an open and fruitful dialogue.”
On Monday, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it has sent
combat troops to Russia to help it reclaim parts of the Kursk region
that Ukraine forces seized in a stunning incursion last year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea and promised
not to forget the sacrifices of North Korean soldiers for Russia.
According to a South Korean government intelligence assessment
shared with lawmakers on Wednesday, North Korea has sent about
15,000 soldiers to Russia, and 4,700 of them have been killed or
wounded. In return for North Korea's supply of conventional arms,
Russia has given it air defense missiles, electronic warfare
equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches,
according to the South Korean assessment.
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