The opening ceremony for the road bridge across the Tumen River connecting North Korea and Russia took place on the 5th (local time), TASS news agency reported.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Premier Pak Tae-song attended the bridge opening event via video link that day.

"This spring, we jointly embarked on this ambitious project, and in just 16 months, we are witnessing a historic moment," Prime Minister Mishustin said.

Mishustin explained that the bridge was designed reflecting projections for increased freight and passenger transport volumes, noting that "up to 300 vehicles can pass through per day."

He also stated that the bridge is part of the East-West international transport corridor stretching from St. Petersburg in western Russia to Vladivostok in the Far East.

Expressing expectations that the expansion of border transport infrastructure will serve as a powerful driving force for the development of trade, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural cooperation between the two countries, Mishustin added, "New jobs will be created, and the prospects for the tourism industry will brighten."

Pak assessed that "thanks to the outstanding foresight and strategic leadership of the leaders of North Korea and Russia, mutually beneficial exchanges and long-term cooperation projects in all fields are being actively implemented based on the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty," according to TASS.

The Tumen River road bridge is named after Yakov Novichenko, a Soviet military officer who blocked a grenade thrown at then-North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in 1946.

At the event, Novichenko's grandson, Nikolai Shervitsky, personally drove the red Zaporozhets passenger car that Novichenko owned during his lifetime, leading the procession of Russian vehicles across the bridge.

The construction of the new Tumen River road bridge was an agreement reached at the North Korea-Russia summit held in Pyongyang in June 2024, and construction began near the existing Tumen River railway bridge in April of last year.

The Russian government stated at the bridge connection ceremony in April that it was scheduled for completion on June 19, meaning it was delayed by about three months.

The Tumen River road bridge was built as a two-way, two-lane road.

The total length of the bridge, including the connecting sections, is about 5 kilometers, while the main body of the bridge is about 1 kilometer long.

The border checkpoint for road bridge traffic, installed near Khasan Station in Russia, was built with 10 lanes.

(Photo: Pyongyang Korean Central News Agency, Yonhap News)