Russia and North Korea open first cross-border road bridge (VIDEO)

The Tumen River crossing is expected to boost trade and provide year-round motor vehicle traffic between Russia and North Korea Russia and North Korea have opened the first road bridge across the Tumen River, linking Russia’s Primorye region directly with the neighboring country, Primorye Governor Oleg Kozhemyako has announced.The new crossing over the river dividing the countries is expected to boost mutual trade and provide year-round transport.Construction of the new bridge began in April 2025 under an agreement signed by Moscow and Pyongyang in 2024. Until now, the neighboring countries’ only direct land transport connection had been the Friendship railway bridge across the Tumen River.Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his North Korean counterpart Pak Thae Song launched traffic across the bridge by video link. “The new route will ensure reliable and stable supplies of various products and will help expand trade and economic cooperation between our countries,” Kozhemyako wrote on Telegram on Monday. The entire crossing, including access roads, stretches about 4.7 km, while the bridge itself is roughly 1 km long and carries two lanes of traffic. The Russian section mea...