A new bridge is being built between Russia and North Korea. The mega construction project between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un appears to be progressing at breakneck speed – as current satellite images show.
A new bridge from Russia to North Korea is currently being built in record time, according to a report in the US news magazine “Newsweek”. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s massive construction project between the two countries has made astonishing progress in the past six months, as shown by satellite imagery that has now been evaluated by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank in Washington (US).
This construction project will build the first road bridge between the two countries over the Tumen River along their shared border. The entire project, including the bridge and a number of access roads, will cover a total of three miles – about 4.8 kilometers, reports “Newsweek”.
“The speed of progress on the highway bridge construction and the high level of rail traffic on previously unused railway lines between the two countries are clear indicators of the importance and expansion of trade between the two countries during Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine,” wrote CSIS analysts Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., Victor Cha, and Jennifer Jun, who authored the report on October 27.
The project is one of the initiatives emerging from a comprehensive agreement signed by the North Korean leader and the Russian president during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang last year.
The agreement allowed Moscow and Pyongyang to cooperate militarily at a level not seen since the Cold War, prompting North Korea to send thousands of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine a few months later.
On the Russian side, construction work has reached 110 meters into the river. Work on the load-bearing pillars that will support the bridge pillars has been completed.
On the North Korean side, construction work extends 150 meters into the river. Six bridge pillars have been erected on land and excavation work for two additional pillars has been completed, CSIS said. The access ramp and abutment connecting the road to the ground are also almost complete.
A new border crossing with a customs building, vehicle repair shop, several additional buildings and an adjacent parking lot is also being created in North Korea. According to the report, this parking lot may be used for transshipment of trucks, and it is likely that drivers will be replaced at the border – they will not be allowed to leave North Korea.
Putin announced in September at an economic forum in Vladivostok that the bridge would open next year. That’s just two years after planning together. The report’s authors also assume that, given the current pace of work and use of resources and despite the impending winter, the project is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026.
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