Seoul, April 21 (IANS) North Korea and Russia held a ceremony Tuesday to mark the linking of a cross-border road bridge over the Tumen River, the Russian Embassy in North Korea said, adding the bridge is set for completion in mid-June.
The two countries began constructing the road bridge in April last year, following a summit meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2024 in Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported.
Tuesday’s ceremony, held in the border region to mark the linking of the bridge, was attended virtually by Russian Transport Minister Andrey Sergeyevich Nikitin and Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, who serves as the Russian chair of the bilateral committee on trade and economic cooperation, according to the Russian Embassy’s Telegram channel.
The Embassy said the bridge is set for final completion on June 19.
In a separate statement, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the bridge as strengthening friendship with North Korea and symbolizing the neighbours’ aspiration to expand regional cooperation, adding that it will boost productive dialogue and exchanges between them.
Currently, North Korea and Russia operate only a rail bridge over the Tumen River. The addition of a road bridge comes as Pyongyang and Moscow deepen their alignment since the North’s troop deployment in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
According to the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang, North Korea’s public security ministry and Russia’s interior ministry signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation on public safety affairs and law enforcement last September.
The two ministers also agreed on the need to beef up cooperation related to border areas, according to the Russian Embassy.
Deepening bilateral cooperation, the construction of the road bridge will act as an expansion in transportation and is expected to increase cross-border movements of people between the two nations, raising the need to tackle a possible rise in crime, such as smuggling.
–IANS
ksk/as
