North Korea and Russia Open First Road Bridge Across Tumen River

[Anchor]

A land route allowing travel between North Korea and Russia by car has opened for the first time. While the border previously only had a railway, a 1-kilometer-long automobile bridge crossing the Tumen River opened yesterday (September 7).

Reporter Kim Hye-young explores what changes this will bring to North Korea-Russia relations.

[Reporter]

Trucks drive across a bridge draped with both North Korean and Russian flags.

The first automobile bridge over the Tumen River, connecting North Korea's Rason and Russia's Khasan, opened yesterday.

The main bridge is approximately 1 kilometer long.

The Russian government stated that 300 vehicles can pass through per day.

Until now, the North Korea-Russia border only featured a railway bridge opened in 1959.

There was no road exclusively for vehicles, but following an agreement on its construction at the North Korea-Russia summit in June 2024, construction began in April of last year, leading to the opening ceremony 495 days later.

[Pak Tae-song / North Korean Premier : Long live the invincible North Korea-Russia friendship and unity!]

The bridge is named after Yakov Novichenko, a Soviet officer who blocked a grenade targeted at Kim Il-sung in 1946.

Both countries evaluated the bridge as an opportunity to expand cooperative ties that have been elevated to a blood alliance level through events such as North Korea's troop deployment to the Russia-Ukraine war.

[Mikhail Mishustin / Russian Prime Minister : We will ensure that the decisions adopted at the highest level are implemented to further expand cooperation in all areas between Russia and North Korea.]

Experts view it as highly likely that the new road will be utilized primarily as a passage supporting military and energy cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

[Lim Eul-chul / Professor, Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam University : Petroleum-related products most urgently needed by North Korea are likely to flow in primarily, and towards the Russia side, various military-related goods and military personnel (are likely to flow in.)]

Projections also suggest its usage could expand to tourism and other areas in the future.

(Video Editing: Cho Mu-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.