Russia-North Korea Bridge Project Raises Alarm in Ukraine

For years, Khasan has been considered one of the most remote places, located at the southeastern tip of Russia. Its population does not even reach 500 people. The region, which is more than 9,000 kilometres by road from Moscow, shares a 17-kilometre border with North Korea. Khasan is the only Russian settlement along that border. Since 1959, the Korea-Russia Friendship Railway Bridge has crossed the Tumen River, which forms the frontier. Until now, that bridge was the only land route connecting Russia and North Korea. However, in recent years, the two countries have been building a parallel road bridge a few hundred metres from the railway bridge. The bridge is now nearly complete, ahead of schedule. This fact is raising concerns in Kyiv, Ukraine, because Russia could not only use the bridge for the exchange of trade goods but also to covertly transport soldiers from North Korea to the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, relations between Russia and North Korea have grown closer. Both share a commonality: they are subject to comprehensive Western sanctions and have very limited diplomatic relations. In June 2024, the two national leaders, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, signed a strategic partnership agreement. The most significant outcome of the agreement was increasingly close military cooperation. This cooperation includes the delivery of large quantities of weapons and also the deployment of soldiers from North Korea for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Concurrently, they agreed to build a new road bridge. ‘The inauguration of this new bridge will boost bilateral trade, optimise logistics, strengthen cultural ties, and transform the border region into dynamically growing economic hubs,’ said Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin in a statement. The Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., wrote similarly, ‘The speed of the bridge’s construction, as well as the high rail traffic at previously inactive stations, clearly indicates the importance of expanding trade between the two countries amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.’ However, a report by the British newspaper The Guardian doubts the civilian and economic purposes cited as the main reason for the bridge project. In 2024, according to official data, the total trade volume between Russia and North Korea reached only 34 million US dollars. The cost of building the bridge and surrounding infrastructure is estimated at around 100 million US dollars, three times the trade figure. Satellite imagery of the construction site shows large storage warehouses, customs buildings, truck parks, and a helipad being built. The Ukrainian human rights organisation Truth Hounds, which is also monitoring the bridge’s construction, is not convinced the bridge will trigger a tourism boom, given its location is a 125-hour car journey from Moscow and still a four-hour drive from Vladivostok. ‘Tourism in North Korea is highly restricted and unlikely to grow quickly because the country is isolated,’ their analysis stated. If anyone were planning a holiday there, it would certainly not be to the remote and completely undeveloped northeastern region of the country, but to the capital Pyongyang. However, Pyongyang lies hundreds of kilometres from the border. ‘Hardly anyone would be willing to travel that distance by car,’ the Ukrainian activists said. Furthermore, Russia has long tried to lure tourists with heavily subsidised direct flights from Moscow to Pyongyang, but the planes are empty. Throughout 2025, it is estimated that fewer than 10,000 Russian citizens will travel to North Korea in total. Analysts from Truth Hounds conclude that the real reason behind the bridge’s construction is to strengthen military cooperation, particularly for the delivery of soldiers and weapons from North Korea for the war against Ukraine. By the middle of last year, based on unofficial information from South Korea, Ukraine, and the US, North Korea had reportedly sent 14,000 to 15,000 of its citizens to the battlefield in Russia. These soldiers were deployed in the Kursk region of Russia, which is currently occupied by Ukraine. Additionally, North Korea is supporting Russia with weapons supplies. According to the Truth Hounds analysts, transporting troops by road is much harder to track via satellite than by rail. Trains can only travel on a limited number of tracks, and loading and unloading can only occur at specific locations. Conversely, trucks can be loaded and unloaded almost anywhere. The vast road network makes seamless satellite monitoring nearly impossible. Just days ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on X that Russia could potentially deploy up to 30,000 additional North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine. Zelenskyy believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also benefits from the military cooperation with Russia. Via the new road bridge, resources can be transported from Russia to North Korea without control, and ‘Russia is helping North Korea learn how to fight, develop weaponry, and gain real combat experience.’ Additionally, ‘It is suspected that North Korea is also receiving compensation for its involvement in the form of Russian nuclear technology,’ according to the report.