Russia’s new £89m bridge to ‘world’s most dangerous country’ to open in June

Russia and North Korea have celebrated the completion of a major new road bridge linking the two nations, with the controversial crossing expected to open as early as June. The project – spanning the Tumen River on the remote Far Eastern border – marks the first-ever direct road connection between Russia and the secretive state often dubbed the “world’s most dangerous country”.

Officials from both sides this week hailed the moment the bridge’s two halves were joined as a “landmark stage” in deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. The crossing, known as the Khasan-Tumangang bridge, is expected to open to traffic on June 19, after just over a year of construction. Costing around 9 billion rubles – roughly £89million – the two-lane structure stretches just over 0.6 miles (1km) and connects the Russian settlement of Khasan with Tumangang in North Korea.

Once operational, it is designed to handle up to 300 vehicles and nearly 3,000 people per day, dramatically increasing cross-border capacity.

The new crossing stretches roughly 3,300 ft across the Tumen River, about 1,360ft east of the existing Korea–Russia Friendship Bridge. The structure is built on concrete piers with steel spans, with around 1,900ft on the North Korean side and 1,390ft on the Russian side. Its road deck carries two lanes and measures approximately 23ft wide, allowing standard vehicle traffic in both directions.

On the Russian side, the project also includes a new approach road of about 1.5 miles around Khasan, alongside the construction of full border checkpoints at either end. The wider crossing connects to Russia’s highway network, reducing travel times between key regional hubs.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the bridge’s significance “goes far beyond a purely engineering task,” noting it will serve as a vital artery for “trade, economic and humanitarian exchanges.”

The bridge comes amid rapidly strengthening ties between the heavily sanctioned Moscow and Pyongyang, including a defence pact signed in 2024.

Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the nations have rapidly expanded their political, cultural and military cooperation. Construction of the crossing was agreed during Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea that year, with both sides presenting it as a symbol of growing strategic cooperation.

North Korea is often labelled the world’s most dangerous country due to its aggressive weapons programme, including nuclear tests and long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching other continents. Under the authoritarian rule of Kim Jong-Un, the regime is also known for extreme secrecy, severe human rights abuses and a willingness to escalate tensions with the West and South Korea.

Until now, the only direct connection between Russia and North Korea has been the Korea-Russia Friendship Bridge, a Soviet-era rail crossing opened in 1959. That bridge remains primarily for trains, with vehicles able to cross only in limited circumstances, using makeshift arrangements on the tracks.

In October 2017, a fibre-optic cable running across the bridge provided North Korea with an additional connection to the global Internet via Russia’s TransTelekom, a subsidiary of Russian national railway operator Russian Railways. Use of the bridge was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, with use resuming in November 2022.

The bridge sits near the tripoint where Russia, North Korea and China meet, an area that has long been a critical – but tightly controlled – gateway into the isolated regime. Tumangang, on the North Korean side, already serves as a key rail entry point for goods and passengers travelling between the two countries.

South Korea warned last week that support from Russia and China is helping to revive the North Korean economy, which has struggled for years under international isolation and sweeping sanctions.

Western intelligence has repeatedly accused North Korea of supplying Russia with munitions for its war effort in exchange for economic and technological support.