Russia and North Korea opened the first road link across their shared border on Monday, connecting North Korea’s Rason with the Russian settlement of Khasan.
The bridge crosses the Tumen River, runs about one kilometer, or six-tenths of a mile, and carries two lanes with capacity for roughly 300 vehicles a day.
A railway bridge and air service already linked the two countries; a road did not. The governments agreed to build it in 2024 and began construction in 2025.
It is named for Yakov Novichenko, a Soviet officer credited with saving the life of North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung.
The two sides held simultaneous ceremonies by video link. “I am convinced that the expansion of transport infrastructure near the border will give a powerful boost to the further development of trade, economic, technological, scientific and cultural cooperation,” Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said. North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song called the opening “a significant event adding a new dynamic movement to the overall bilateral cooperation,” in remarks carried by the state news agency KCNA.
The crossing arrives as ties have tightened, with Pyongyang supplying ammunition and troops for Russia’s war in Ukraine in exchange for economic and military assistance.
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