Seoul: North Korea and Russia have started making their first road links, the two countries announced, making the construction of a bridge over a border river as a major development, which will expand their fast growing relationship.
Russia’s Tass news agency reported that the bridge would be 1 km (0.6 mi) long and its construction is expected to be 1 ½ years. The Korean Central News Agency of North Korea said that on Thursday the bridge will expand the journey of the people, the circulation of tourism and goods.
In recent years, relations and exchange programs between the two countries have been fruitful, North Korea has supplied the ammunition and soldiers to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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North Korea has obtained Russian tourists from February 2024 to gently reduce epidemics, but stopped the Chinese group visits, which were making more than 90% of visitors before the epidemic.
In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% with Russia. According to the Ministry of Integration of South Korea, currently there are at least 17 active roads and rail links on the long, porous border between North Korea and China.
A railway bridge and air service already connects North Korea and Russia, and in June 2024, the two countries agreed to construct a bridge for automobiles above the Tuman River, which runs along the borders of North Korea with Russia and China.
According to state media agencies of the two countries, on Thursday, North Korea and Russia held a ground ceremony for the construction of the bridge in their respective border cities. The agencies said that North Korean Premier Pak was song and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishostin participated in the ceremony through video link.
Pakistan said that the construction of the bridge would be remembered as a “historic monument” in bilateral relations, KCNA said on Thursday.
“This is a large milestone for the Russian-Corean relationship,” Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishostin said, according to the Tass. “We are creating a reliable basis for close cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue.”
On Monday, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent fighter soldiers to Russia to help retrieve parts of the Kursk region, which Ukraine had seized in a surprising intrusion last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea and promised not to forget the sacrifices of North Korean soldiers for Russia.
According to the intelligence evaluation of the South Korean government shared with MPs on Wednesday, North Korea has sent around 15,000 soldiers to Russia, and 4,700 of them has been killed or injured. According to South Korean assessment, in exchange for the supply of North Korea’s traditional weapons, Russia has provided technology for IT air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and espionage satellite launch.
