North Korea and Russia open first road bridge linking both countries
It comes as relations between both countries have strengthened since the start of the Ukraine war.
North Korea and Russia have opened their first road bridge connecting the two countries.
The bridge crosses the Tumen river and links the border cities of Rason and Khasan. It will make it easier to move cargo and passengers across the border.
Pyongyang state media said the bridge will be used for "personnel exchanges, tourism and trade". But Ukrainian OSINT group Truth Hounds said it is meant "primarily to establish a covert military logistics corridor" to support Russia in the Ukraine war.
The opening comes as ties between the two countries have deepened since the start of the Ukraine war. Russia's Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un had previously pledged that both countries would help each other in the event of "aggression" against either country.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called the bridge a "new symbol of friendship", while North Korea's Prime Minister Pak Thae Song described it as a "historical event".
According to Russian state news TASS, as many as 300 vehicles and 2,323 people can cross the bridge each day.
Russia and North Korea already have air links and a rail connection, but until now their only road link was a temporary arrangement in which, by special agreement, wooden planks were laid on the rail bridge so cars could cross, Reuters reported.
Reuters also reported that the Russian government said the bridge will first be used for cargo transport before opening to passenger traffic later this year.
Mishustin said the bridge would give a "powerful impetus for the further development of trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation," and, speaking by video link at the opening ceremony, said relations between Moscow and Pyongyang were "at an unprecedented high level."
The most immediate effect could be a rise in weapons exports to Russia.
Researchers at South Korea's spy agency estimate that North Korea has already sent $7 to 14 billion dollars' worth of rockets, missiles and artillery shells by ship.
An estimated 11,000 North Korean troops are actively fighting Ukrainians in Russia.
Truth Hounds said in a recent statement that, given the strategic partnership treaty between the two countries in 2024, the bridge could be used to move North Korean military personnel, construction workers and senior military officials directly to Russia.
It would also allow Russian technology and resources to flow in the opposite direction.
Construction began in 2025 after the agreement to build the bridge was reached during Putin's 2024 visit to North Korea, his first trip to the country in 24 years, which led to the partnership treaty. The bridge was completed in 495 days after delays.
Russian tourists have been arriving in North Korea in small numbers since they were allowed to enter in 2024. North Korea has been hosting them in the capital Pyongyang and the beach resorts of Wonsan-Kalma, while still barring visitors from other countries.
The road is also expected to carry North Korean labourers to Russia.
Around 10,000 North Koreans are working at construction sites and logging camps in Russia, according to a South Korean estimate. Although the UN bans countries from using North Korean labour, many enter Russia under the guise of student visas.
"The speed of construction is a reflection of the volume of trade activity between the two sides," Victor Cha from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank told BBC Verify in May this year.
"This is spurred largely by North Korea's provision of troops, weapons, munitions, and labourers for Putin's war in Ukraine," he said.
"It is fair to say that this connection, prior to the war in Ukraine, was one of the sleepiest links between North Korea and its two neighbours."