MOSCOW;Russia and North Korea officially opened their first cross-border road bridge on Monday, marking a significant infrastructure milestone in the rapidly deepening partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang.
The 1-kilometer (0.6-mile), two-lane structure spans the Tumen River, connecting the Russian town of Khasan in Primorsky Krai with Tumangang in North Korea. The $104 million (9 billion rubles) bridge was inaugurated via video link by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song.
Before Monday’s opening, land transport between the two nations relied solely on the 1959 “Friendship Bridge” rail crossing. Moving vehicles required placing wooden planks over the train tracks by special arrangement.
The new road facility is connected to Russia’s federal highway system and is designed to handle up to 300 heavy cargo vehicles and 2,300 people daily.
The structure has been officially named the Yakov Novichenko Bridge. It honors a Soviet Red Army officer who saved North Korean founder Kim Il Sung from a grenade explosion during a 1946 rally in Pyongyang.
Construction began in April 2025 following a bilateral agreement reached during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summit with Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in 2024. During the ceremony, Prime Minister Mishustin referenced the strong wartime ties, acknowledging North Korean troops who joined Russian forces during combat operations.
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