A study by the Ukrainian human rights group Truth Hounds highlighted by the U.K. Guardian on Tuesday indicates that North Korea and Russia have nearly completed a bridge between them whose construction began after the signing of a “mutual defense” agreement that led to North Korean boots on the ground in Europe.
Truth Hounds, in the highlighted report, argued that the bridge has no significant economic value, given the sparse populations in Khasan, Russia, and Tumangang, North Korea, the regions on either side of the bridge. Rather, the group speculated, the bridge could facilitate the shipment of military assets in trucks, rather than trains, which would help mask the nature of the cargo from one country to another.
North Korea, arguably the world’s most repressive communist state, has dramatically strengthened its diplomatic ties to Russia in the past two years, following signs of estrangement between dictator Kim Jong-un and his traditional patron state, China, during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. While Kim appeared to be distancing his defense infrastructure from China following Beijing’s decision to abide by United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang’s rogue nuclear program in 2017, he made several visits to Russia by train and declared himself a close ally of strongman Vladimir Putin.
Putin made his first trip to Pyongyang in two decades in 2024, where the two leaders signed a “mutual defense” agreement that preceded the emergence of North Korean troops fighting on Russia’s behalf in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Even before that visit, however, North Korea boasted that it had received advanced weapons from Russia. In September 2023, Russian news reported that Kim left a visit to eastern Russia at the time with “five kamikaze drones and a ‘Geran-25’ reconnaissance drone” as gifts, a potential violation of United Nations sanctions for which Russia never faced any consequences.
The Guardian reported that the new bridge’s construction began shortly after the signing of that agreement two years ago and the North Korean side of the bridge, as per satellite images, appears completed. Once completed, the bridge will be the first road bridge ever between the two countries, now connected by rail.
The newspaper recalled that Russian officials had advertised the bridge as infrastructure intended to increase economic activity in the remote region.
“The opening of the new road bridge will increase mutual trade, optimise logistics, strengthen cultural ties, and transform border areas into dynamically developing economic hubs,” Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin reportedly claimed.
The Truth Hounds report rejected the alleged economic benefits of the bridge, instead suggesting that it was intended to obscure the true nature of shipments between the two countries via trucks.
“The crossing is estimated to have cost more than $100m, versus bilateral trade that was reportedly worth just $34m in 2024,” the Truth Hounds report estimated, suggesting the bridge could help move “North Korean troops, construction brigades, and military officials into Russia, and for Russian technology and resources to move in the opposite direction.”
The report on the bridge arrived a week after North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui traveled to Moscow to meet her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and coordinate diplomacy with the country’s northern neighbor. Citing North Korean state media, the Korean JoongAng Daily reported last week that the two leaders “agreed to accelerate cooperation centered on implementing their [2024 mutual defense] treaty, reaffirming their commitment to develop bilateral relations ‘under the strategic guidance at the highest level.’”
The Russian news agency Tass reported that Lavrov and Choe engaged in a “strategic dialogue,” including further implementing the 2024 deal and “bilateral cooperation and diplomatic coordination.” The Russian government offered no details on what this coordination would look like. Some reports suggested Kim Jong-un could soon be making another visit to Russia, though the reports from both countries following the meeting did not state any specific updates on such a trip. Tass did report that both sides conversed about “plans for high-level visits,” but without stating if that meant Kim would soon visit Russia or Putin would soon visit North Korea.
North Korea has maintained vocal support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine through the past four years, including disparaging Ukrainian leaders as “Nazis” and encouraging the Russian troops to “eliminate the root cause” of the conflict in remarks during Choe’s visit last week. The Ukrainian government, in turn, warned this week that it has reason to believe Russia is preparing to send in thousands more North Korean troops to the Ukraine war theater. Some reports estimate that, since 2024, North Korea has sent as many as 15,000 troops to Europe to fight against Ukraine.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov addressed comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on North Korean troops but refused to answer questions about the predicted collaboration directly.
“I consider it unnecessary to comment [on such remarks]. It is not up to Zelensky to come up with statements regarding our [Russia’s] plans,” Peskov reportedly told journalists, according to Tass.
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