The first road bridge connecting North Korea and Russia is nearing completion, satellite images analyzed by him show BBC Verify.
It is the latest sign of deepening relations between Pyongyang and Moscow, which have become even stronger after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We remind you that many North Korean soldiers ended up on the Ukrainian battlefield side by side with Russian forces.
“This bridge will offer a useful route for the transport of military goods and ammunition — both to North Korea and to Russia,” Dr. Edward Howellfrom the Chatham House think tank.
The new road link across the Tumen River is only a few hundred meters from the only other bridge between the two countries — the rail link known as the “Friendship Bridge”. The latest satellite images show a bridge about a kilometer long, along with several new access roads, a border crossing, supporting infrastructure and parking facilities.
Experts say that all this indicates that the bridge should become an important trade route between the two countries.
The agreement on the construction of the crossing was reached during the visit of the Russian president Vladimir Putin Pyongyang in June 2024, when he met with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Construction began about a year later, and BBC Verify followed its progress using satellite images.
The crossing, known as the Khasan–Tumangang Bridge, was built to accommodate up to 300 vehicles and 2,850 people per day, according to the Russian Ministry of Transport.
The total cost is estimated at more than nine billion rubles, or about £88 million or $120 million, Russian state media reported.
“The speed of construction is a reflection of the volume of trade activity between the two sides,” he told the BBC Victor Cha from the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“This is largely driven by North Korea providing soldiers, weapons, ammunition and manpower to Putin’s war in Ukraine,” he said.
Kremlin: ‘Truly a turning point’
According to CSIS, Russian and North Korean drivers are likely to pick up trucks full of goods at the crossing, as they will be restricted from moving their vehicles deeper into the other country’s territory.
On April 21, the two countries held a ceremony marking the joining of the two sides of the bridge, and the Russian embassy in North Korea announced that construction should be completed on June 19.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the opening of the bridge “will become a truly turning point in Russian-Korean relations” and that its meaning “goes far beyond a purely engineering task.”
Rail traffic over the nearby Friendship Bridge remained intense even during the construction of the road bridge, as trade between the two countries expanded, according to CSIS.
“It can be said that this relationship, before the war in Ukraine, was one of the most dormant links between North Korea and its two neighbors,” Cha said.
In addition to agreeing on the construction of the bridge, Putin and Kim during the visit of the Russian president in 2024 also signed a historic agreement in which Russia and North Korea undertake to help each other in case of “aggression” against either of the two countries.
According to intelligence from South Korea, the North has sent about 15,000 troops to help Russia invade, along with missiles and long-range weapons. Seoul also estimates that around 2,000 North Koreans died in the conflict.
Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have confirmed these figures, but Kim Jong Un and the Russian Defense Minister have Andrei Belousov last week in Pyongyang they unveiled a monument to North Koreans who died in the war in Ukraine. Belousov, according to Russian news agencies, said he had discussed long-term military cooperation with North Korean officials.
In return for sending troops and artillery, North Korea is believed to have received food, fuel and military technology from Russia.
“The construction of the bridge is the best example of how North Korea’s ties with Russia could continue after the end of the war in Ukraine,” Howell said.
