New road bridge inaugurated between Russia and North Korea

 

TT-EFE

Published 14.12

 

A picture from the Russian Ministry of Transport from last spring shows work on the bridge that has now been inaugurated. Archive photo Photo: Russian Ministry of Transport via AFP/TT

Russia and North Korea have inaugurated a road bridge between the countries.

The new connection across the border river Tumen is seen as another sign of the countries' increasingly strong ties.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin participated in the ceremony via link and called the event "historic". He stated that up to 300 cars will be able to drive across the border daily.

The countries' relationship has recently strengthened, partly as a result of North Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine. In connection with the inauguration, both sides stated that they hope the bridge will lead to increased trade and tourism.

The countries share a border of almost two kilometers long. The newly inaugurated bridge is just over a kilometer long, of which 424 meters are on the Russian side and 581 meters on the North Korean side.

Until now, the only land connection between the countries has been a railway bridge built in 1959.