Russia, North Korea Building New Bridge as Pyongyang Supplies Missiles, Troops

Russia and North Korea have begun construction of a new road bridge over the Tumen River, which serves as a natural border between the two countries.

According to Reuters, the new bridge is being built near the existing “Friendship Bridge” — a railway crossing constructed in 1959 following the end of the Korean War.

A company from Sochi is handling the bridge project, with completion expected by the summer of 2026.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called the project a significant milestone in Russian-North Korean relations. He stated that the bridge would boost cargo traffic and help develop passenger transport between the two countries.

The total length of the crossing, including access roads, will be 4.7 kilometers (2.9 miles). The bridge itself is planned to span 1 kilometer (.6 miles), 424 meters (1,391 feet) on the Russian side and 581 meters (1,906 feet) on the North Korean side — with a width of 7 meters (23 feet) to accommodate two lanes of traffic. A vehicle checkpoint is also planned near the bridge.

North Korea has emerged as a key military supplier to Russia in its war against Ukraine. Between August 2023 and March 2025, at least 64 shipments were identified.

During that time, Pyongyang sent over 15,800 containers to Russia, containing an estimated 4.2 to 5.8 million rounds of ammunition. The shipments also included a significant number of short-range ballistic missiles, 170mm self-propelled howitzers, and roughly 220 units of 240mm multiple rocket launch systems.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine’s new cultural grant initiative, “Tysyachovesna” (Thousand Springs), has already received 1,151 applications from across the country. As the nation’s first full-format program dedicated to supporting domestic culture, it guarantees billions in Hryvnia annually for the creation of movies, series, animation, music, performing arts, visual arts, and social media content.

In addition to weapons, North Korea reportedly sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia, many of whom were killed in combat against Ukrainians in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.