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🇰🇷 South Korea /Energy & Infrastructure

North Korea and Russia Open Tumen River Road Bridge, Pyongyang Calls It a New Dynamism for Cooperation

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • North Korea and Russia held simultaneous ceremonies to open a road bridge connecting Rason with Russia’s Khasan across the Tumen River.
  • The bridge took 495 days to complete and is intended to support transport, people-to-people exchanges, tourism and trade.
  • North Korean and Russian officials presented the project as a sign of stronger bilateral cooperation, while the bridge was named after Soviet officer Yakov Novichenko.

North Korea and Russia have opened a new road bridge across the Tumen River, linking the North Korean border city of Rason with Russia’s Khasan. Completion ceremonies took place simultaneously in the two cities, North Korean state media reported.

The bridge took 495 days to build. North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency said the project would provide safe passage for vehicles and people while strengthening the infrastructure underpinning economic cooperation between the two countries. It also said the bridge would help expand tourism, personal exchanges and the circulation of goods.

The structure was named after Yakov Novichenko, a Soviet army officer who, according to the report, shielded North Korean leader Kim Il Sung from a grenade during a March 1 commemorative ceremony at Pyongyang Station Square in 1946. North Korean media described the name as expressing the two governments’ and peoples’ determination to deepen their relationship through “true comradely trust.”

Friendship, good-neighborly relations and mutual assistance between the two countries are not affected by the international situation.

· Mikhail MishustinThe Russian prime minister addressed the opening ceremony by video link.

North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin joined the ceremony by video link from Pyongyang and Moscow. Mishustin said friendship, good-neighborly relations and mutual assistance between the two countries were not affected by the international situation, adding that Russia would continue working to strengthen bilateral ties in multiple areas. Pak called the bridge’s completion a significant event that would add “new dynamism” to overall bilateral cooperation.

The project was agreed at a North Korea-Russia summit in Pyongyang in June 2024, and construction began in April last year near the existing Tumen River rail bridge. The new bridge has two lanes for traffic. Including its connecting sections, it is about 5 kilometers long, while the bridge itself measures about 1 kilometer.

The completion of the Tumen River road bridge is a significant event that adds new dynamism to overall bilateral cooperation.

· Pak Thae SongThe North Korean premier described the significance of the project at the ceremony.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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