MOSCOW: Russia and North Korea have opened the first road bridge directly connecting the two countries, creating a new route for the movement of passengers and goods across the Tumen River.
North Korean state media said the bridge would facilitate the exchange of personnel, tourism, and trade between the two countries.
However, Ukrainian open-source intelligence group Truth Hounds has alleged that the bridge is primarily intended to create a covert military logistics route to support Russia in its war in Ukraine.
The opening comes as relations between Moscow and Pyongyang have strengthened significantly since the start of the Ukraine war. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have previously pledged that their countries would support each other in the event of “aggression” against either side.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin described the new bridge as a “new symbol of friendship,” while North Korean Prime Minister Pak Thae Song called its opening a “historical event.”
According to Russian state news agency TASS, the bridge can accommodate up to 300 vehicles and 2,323 people each day.
Satellite imagery reported by the BBC in May showed the approximately one-kilometre-long bridge alongside newly constructed access roads, a border checkpoint, supporting infrastructure, and parking facilities.
Russia and North Korea already have air and rail connections. Until now, however, their only road connection had been a temporary arrangement in which wooden planks were laid across the existing rail bridge to allow vehicles to cross, according to Reuters.
(Inputs from BBC)
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