MOSCOW: Russia and North Korea opened their first road bridge on Monday in a carefully choreographed display of friendship, a structure which spans the Tumen river and which both sides cast as an important milestone in their deepening strategic partnership.
The first flag-adorned trucks trundled across the one-kilometre-long two-lane bridge as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his North Korean counterpart Pak Thae Song tuned in by video link to address workers and government officials from both countries.
Construction of the new bridge, which had been under discussion for years, began in April last year after the project was agreed during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in 2024. There are already direct air and rail links between Moscow and Pyongyang, but until Monday there had not been a proper road link.
Instead, since 1959 and by special arrangement, planks had been placed on the nearby rail bridge, for decades the sole border crossing point, in order to move vehicles across the border 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,” said Mishustin.
Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2026
