Russia and North Korea Open First Road Bridge, Raising Fears of a Military Corridor

Russia and North Korea have opened their first direct road bridge, a new crossing over the Tumen River that Ukraine fears could become a military corridor.

The bridge, slightly more than one kilometer long, was inaugurated on Monday, Sept. 7. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Cabinet Premier Pak Thae Song took part in the ceremony by videoconference. Construction began in late April 2025.

Until now, the countries had only one land connection, the Friendship Bridge railway crossing over the same river. They also maintain regular flights between Vladivostok and Pyongyang. The agreement to build the road bridge was signed in June 2024 during Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea. At the same time, the two countries concluded a treaty on a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” which later became the basis for expanded military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.

The bridge carries the name of Yakov Tikhonovich Novichenko, a Red Army officer who saved Kim Il Sung’s life in March 1946 after a grenade was thrown toward the North Korean leader at a rally in Pyongyang. Novichenko threw himself over the grenade and protected Kim Il Sung with his body. He suffered serious injuries but survived, and North Korean authorities later awarded him the country’s highest state honor, the title of Hero of Labor.

That story featured prominently at the opening ceremony. On the Russian side, a red Zaporozhets once owned by Novichenko led the vehicle convoy.

Beyond its symbolism, the road link could make trade and other exchanges easier as relations between the two countries have grown much closer. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, North Korea has provided Moscow with increasing military support, including ammunition and ballistic missiles, and sent thousands of troops to the Kursk region to help Russian forces repel a Ukrainian incursion launched in 2024. According to South Korean intelligence services, Russia has supplied North Korea with air-defense missiles, electronic-warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellites. The military cooperation has also drawn warnings from Ukrainian human-rights organizations.