Russia and North Korea further fostered their budding alliance with the construction of a new bridge connection between the two countries that have been increasingly isolated from the West.
The land bridge over the Tumannaya River will be the first road link between the two countries — previously, all contact occurred through a railroad bridge, constructed in 1959. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song both attended the ground-breaking ceremony via video link, hailing the event as a watershed moment in Russia-North Korea relations.
“I would like to emphasize that we highly value our friendly, good-neighborly relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, treat your country with great warmth, and reaffirm our readiness to continue constructive interaction, which is becoming stronger year after year,” Mishustin said at the ceremony, according to Russian state media.
“It is a great responsibility and also a great honor to be involved in the construction of a major transport infrastructure facility and, in a broader sense, in building trust and unity between our countries,” he added.
Pak was even more grandiose, saying the bridge “will become an eternal historical monument symbolizing the unbreakable friendship between Russia and North Korea.”
He added that relations between Russia and North Korea have “entered a phase of even more dynamic expansion and development, mutually beneficial joint projects are actively advancing, making a real contribution to improving the welfare of nations.”
“The completion of this bridge on the Korean-Russian border will lay the groundwork for expanding essential infrastructure for bilateral economic cooperation,” Pak said. “It will create a practical guarantee for further developing collaboration in areas such as people-to-people exchanges, tourism, and trade, ultimately giving fresh momentum to the growth of Korea-Russia relations.”
Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit said the bridge will be 850 meters, 300 meters of which will be built by Russia.
Russia and North Korea share a small 11-mile border. The border saw little use until the war in Ukraine, where Pyongyang has offered an increasingly isolated Russia extensive military support.
The first major sign of a major change in Russia-North Korea relations was when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pyongyang in July 2023 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. During the visit, he met with his North Korean counterpart and pledged greater military cooperation.
Russia-North Korea relations further developed in September 2023 when North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Vladivostok. The following month, the Biden administration alleged that Pyongyang had shipped military equipment to Russia for use in Ukraine.
Lavrov visited Pyongyang in October 2023 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the beginning of relations between the two countries. He said relations had reached a “qualitatively new, strategic level,” and praised North Korea as one of the few countries to “explicitly declare their solidarity with Russia.”
By February 2024, North Korea reportedly shipped over 2.5 million shells and other munitions to Russia, according to Beyond Parallel. It also supplied ballistic missiles, artillery, and other weapons for use in Ukraine. Putin visited Pyongyang in June 2024, where he and Kim signed a strategic partnership treaty.
North Korea’s support for Russia escalated drastically in October 2024, when Pyongyang deployed troops to Russia’s Kursk region to combat an invasion by Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian, Western, and South Korean intelligence all alleged the deployment of a North Korean expedition force in Kursk to supplement Russia’s troops. While allegedly disguised as members of Russia’s minority Asian populations, their different tactics, language, and general approach suggested they were North Korean.
The deployment was finally confirmed on Monday, when North Korea’s Central Military Commission issued a statement carried by state media. It said the deployment came as part of the June 2024 treaty, which dictated that the two must use all available means to provide military assistance if either is attacked.
The troops quickly gained the respect of the Ukrainians for their near-suicidal bravery, often preferring to leave behind protective equipment to move quicker on the battlefield, according to Ukrainian troops speaking with CNN. They were expert marksmen, shooting down drones from hundreds of feet away, and would blow themselves up rather than risk capture. Their ruthless assaults helped grind down Ukrainian lines.
In the Monday confirmation, Kim was quoted as saying the deployment was intended to “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces.”
“They who fought for justice are all heroes and representatives of the honor of the motherland,” Kim added, according to the statement. He also pledged to erect a monument in Pyongyang to commemorate the battlefield feats of the soldiers and to preferentially treat the families of the fallen.
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Putin, in turn, thanked North Korea and promised to remember the sacrifices its soldiers made for Russia.
A South Korean assessment alleged that Russia gave North Korea air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones, and space technology in return for the military assistance. Trade has likely increased significantly from 2023, when just 1.2% of North Korean trade was with Russia, compared to 97% with China. The “hermit kingdom” has also opened up to Russian tourists, starting in February.