Vehicles Now Moving Between Russia, North Korea

Vehicles are now freely moving between Russia and North Korea. The two countries on Monday opened their first road bridge, a span over the Tumen River that both governments are touting as a strategic upgrade to their relationship, per Reuters. Built over the same waterway as the "Friendship Bridge," a Soviet-era rail that has connected the neighbors since 1959, the new crossing is named for Soviet officer Yakov Novichenko, who is said to have saved North Korea's Kim Il-sung from an assassination attempt in 1946, the Guardian reports.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the bridge should boost trade, tourism, and jobs, calling cross-border infrastructure a "powerful impetus" for deeper cooperation in fields from economics to technology. Ukrainian critics, however, say the new route will likely be used to shuttle North Korean troops to the war front, and allow Russian technology to flow the other way. The construction was agreed upon during Vladimir Putin's 2024 visit to North Korea, with work beginning in April 2025. Once the ribbon was cut Monday, "convoys of vehicles crossed the bridge from both sides," per the Guardian.