Satellite images have revealed that North Korea and Russia are working to complete a new high-capacity highway bridge crossing their border over the Tumen River, and experts told Radio Free Asia that the fervor to quickly complete the project is a sign of increased cooperation and warm relations between Pyongyang and Moscow.
Until now, the only bridge connecting the two countries was the Friendship Bridge, a much smaller railway bridge that was built in 1959 and was intended to be a temporary measure until a permanent bridge could be built. This has never happened until now.
The new bridge, which is expected to open next month, will be able to accommodate up to 300 vehicles and transport 2,850 people across the border per day, according to the Russian Transport Ministry. It is about a kilometer (3,280 feet) long and will connect the North Korean city of Rason with the Russian city of Khasan.
“It appears that both sides are making great efforts to complete the final construction in time for the planned official opening this summer,” Bruce Songhak Chung, a senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Security Strategy, told RFA. “The project is approximately 80 to 90 percent complete before the official opening.”
Satellite images from March 10, April 22 and May 16 show the progress of construction of a customs building on the North Korean side. The roofing work has now been completed and ground leveling and paving around the building have progressed significantly, Chung said. Work on paving access roads connecting customs facilities is also in its final stages, he said.
On the Russian side, the construction of a large-scale customs complex has progressed rapidly. Satellite images from February and April show that the construction of buildings with concreting works, paving of access roads and site cleaning has progressed considerably. A small control building to inspect vehicles before the bridge is also under construction.
Grand opening in June
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to build the new bridge at a summit in Pyongyang in June 2024. Since then, the two governments have held events to commemorate the progress made.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in April 2025 and on April 21 this year, delegations from both countries participated virtually in a bridge connection ceremony.
On the same day as the connection ceremony, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang announced that the bridge would be completed on June 19, six months ahead of the original completion date.
Experts suggest that this year-round road crossing will further develop trade, economic and people-to-people ties between the Russian Far East and North Korea.
Moscow and Pyongyang quickly increased their exchanges and cooperation after Russia was isolated from the international community following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, the two countries have increased their exchanges and cooperation, with North Korea even sending weapons and soldiers to fight alongside Russia.
Military and economic cooperation will only improve once the new bridge is completed, Joung Eunlee, director of the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, told RFA.
“Road transport can move larger volumes of goods faster than rail transport and allow more people to travel. Bilateral trade is therefore expected to expand once the bridge is opened,” she said.
North Korea could also use the bridge to more aggressively deploy foreign workers to Russia, Kang Dong Wan, a political science professor at Dong-A University in Busan, South Korea, told RFA.
The cash-strapped North Korean government routinely circumvents sanctions by sending legions of workers overseas to earn wages overseas, then confiscates most of them.
The new bridge would further undermine the effectiveness of sanctions, experts warn.
Tumen Bridge versus Yalu Bridge (A Barometer of Relations)
The rapid progress of the Tumen River Bridge stands in stark contrast to the New Yalu River Bridge between North Korea and China, the structure of which was completed in 2014 but has yet to be inaugurated as infrastructure completion on the North Korean side has stalled.
It was built as a symbol of economic cooperation between North Korea and China, with China providing active investments.
Recent satellite images of the bridge show that construction of North Korea’s customs facilities has made considerable progress, but some areas still contain empty land and construction materials, Chung said.
Analysts say the divergent fates of the two bridges reflect Kim Jong Un’s strategic tilt toward Moscow rather than Beijing.
North Korea has been reluctant to open the new Yalu River bridge because it fears increased Chinese interference and influence, Andrei Lankov, a Russian-born North Korea expert and professor at Kookmin University in Seoul, told RFA.
Kim Jong Un blocked the completion of that bridge to prevent Chinese-style reforms from flowing in and destabilizing existing power structures in North Korea, Ri Jong Ho, a former senior North Korean official who defected to South Korea in 2014 and currently lives in Virginia, told RFA.
“The new bridge over the Yalu River has become a barometer of relations between North Korea and China. It could open within a few months depending on Kim Jong Un’s decision – or it could take another decade, or remain closed beyond the Kim Jong Un era,” Ri said.
The rapid efforts to complete the Tumen River highway bridge reflect Kim’s judgment that cooperation with Russia is much safer and more beneficial than with China, Ri said.
Edited by Eugene Whong.