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Russia and North Korea have signed an agreement to build a cross-border road bridge. Currently, the only bridge between the countries, which crosses the Tumen River, is the Friendship Railway Bridge, which was opened in 1959.
The new road bridge will expand transport connections between Russia and North Korea. The proposal has been on the table for several years, however there has been scepticism about the need to construct another bridge, as North Korea is under sanctions and there is not enough trade between the countries to justify another crossing.
However, with the extensive sanctions regime now in place against Russia, the situation seems to have changed. We noted in our earlier report on Russia-North Korea 2024 trade that the recent bilateral meetings between the two sides during President Putin’s visit to Pyongyang last week that the delegation included Russian and North Korean transport Ministers.
Located immediately downstream from the China–North Korea–Russia tripoint, the existing bridge is the sole crossing point on the 17 km long North Korea–Russia border. Planks are laid between the tracks making the crossing of road vehicles possible, but it is primarily a rail bridge. A specific road bridge will make road haulage border crossings far easier.
The bridge would also link with the Baranovsky–Khasan railway line, which leads from the Trans-Siberian railway in the south of Baranovsky on Russia’s Pacific Ocean coast to the North Korean border at Khasan, which continues into North Korea with the Tumangang railway line. That extends as far as the Raisin-Sonborg Special Economic Zone, North Korea’s primary manufacturing hub. The route is mainly operated by regional trains that connect places along the route with Ussuriysk, with connections to the Trans-Siberian Railway, as well as the regional Russian ports of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk.
While exact figures remain hard to obtain, bilateral trade last year reportedly reached US$120 million, marking a substantial increase from the past years. Yet, when contrasted with North Korea’s trade volumes with China, this figure might seem modest. Nevertheless, the growing trajectory is undeniable and given military-grade barter trade between them, can probably be valued in the billions of dollars today with the new bridge planned to facilitate this trade.
