Russia, North Korea hold ceremony for 'truly significant' 5 kilometer bridge

Prefer on Google by Kate Tsurkan Photo for illustrative purposes. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toast during a reception at the Mongnangwan Reception House in Pyongyang, North Korea on June 19, 2024. (Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Russian and North Korean officials held an online ceremony to celebrate the completion of span structures for what will become the first road bridge linking the two countries by land, Russia's Transport Ministry reported on April 21. Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin described the five-kilometer-long, two-lane bridge as "a truly significant event," adding that, once fully functional, it will have "strategic significance" for the economic and social spheres of both countries. According to the Transport Ministry, the new bridge for cars and trucks will be the first of its kind linking Russia and North Korea by land. At present, the two countries are connected by land only by the railway. The press release on the ministry's website didn't specify when the bridge will be fully functional. After facing increasing international isolation following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow moved to deepen ties with North Korea, a fellow pariah state. Around 12,000 North Korean soldiers took part in the 2024 counteroffensive to push Ukrainian soldiers out of Russia's Kursk Oblast. South Korean media reported in mid-February that around 11,000 North Korean troops are still stationed in the region. North Korea, alongside China and Iran, has taken part in reshaping the economy within Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine, a report from the Eastern Human Rights Group and the Institute for Strategic Research and Security revealed in March.