Satellite images show new road bridge North Korea is building with Russia

Russia has begun the construction of its first road bridge to North Korea over the Tumen river on the border, marking rapidly advancing bilateral ties with the isolated regional ally.

The construction marks the first ever bridge for cars and motor vehicles crossing between Russia and North Korea and is a “significant milestone” in the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Wednesday as he attended the groundbreaking ceremony in a video conference.

The bridge will span 4.7km (2.9 miles) – including the approach roads leading to it – with 424m inside Russia and 581m inside North Korea, reported Russia’s Tass news agency. The bridge on its own is one km long and seven metres wide with two lanes for moving traffic, and worth more than $111m (£83m), according to the Russian prime minister’s decree from February.

Russia has claimed the bridge, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, will expand cross-border travel of people, tourism, and circulation of commodities. The bridge is likely to have a capacity to process 300 vehicles and 2,850 people per day.

North Korea and Russia are already connected by a railway bridge and the two isolated nations agreed in June 2024 to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen river, which runs along North Korea’s borders with Russia and China.

"This is a big milestone for Russian-Korean relations," Mr Mishustin said, according to Tass. "We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue,” he said.

North Korean premier Pak Thae Song and Mr Mishustin were in attendance as the crew on respective sides held a ground-breaking ceremony in their border cities.

North Korea is publicly supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war efforts in Ukraine by using all means, including tens of thousands of troops, military aid, and ammunition.

In October 2023, satellite images showed increased freight railcar traffic between Russia and North Korea in likely signs of Kim Kong Un supplying Mr Putin with arms and munitions.

With the latest roadway connection announced on Wednesday, war monitors have said the connecting bridge will aid North Korea’s further military involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Russia and North Korea will likely use the bridge for material transportation as the two states strengthen their cooperation,” said The Institute for the Study of War in its latest assessment.

Mr Pak said the bridge’s construction would be remembered as a “historic monument” in bilateral ties. The announcement came just days after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to Russia to help it reclaim parts of the Kursk region that Ukraine forces seized in a stunning incursion last year.

Last week, in his first such acknowledgement, Mr Putin thanked North Korea for its involvement in the Ukraine war and promised not to forget the sacrifices of North Korean soldiers.

North Korea has sent about 15,000 soldiers to Russia, and 4,700 of them have been killed or wounded, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS). Experts have said Russia has paid back North Korea by supplying it with air defence missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches.