Russia, North Korea soon to begin construction of road bridge at border: Envoy

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia and North Korea will soon begin the construction of a road bridge between the two countries, Moscow’s ambassador to Pyongyang said on Thursday.

“I hope that soon we will witness the ceremonial start of construction of this, without exaggeration, the most significant and important, from a practical point of view, object of bilateral cooperation in all the recent decades,” Aleksandr Matsegora told the Russian state news agency RIA in an interview.

Noting that the construction of the bridge has not yet begun, Matsegora said that both sides are currently carrying out preparatory work, as well as finalizing the design documentation and forming construction teams and columns of equipment.

“However, we do not have long to wait,” Matsegora said, expressing that there are many other “promising” bilateral projects between the two countries, which he said they will be able to talk about soon.

Moscow and Pyongyang signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in June 2024 amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's first visit to North Korea in 24 years.

An agreement was also signed on the construction of the motorway bridge.

The two countries share a 17-kilometer (10.6-mile) land border running through the Tumen River, a 520-kilometer (324-mile) river in northeast Asia that also marks part of China’s border with North Korea.

Matsegora also commented on Russia’s recent dialogue with the US, stating that North Korea has responded “positively” to the resumption of contacts between Moscow and Washington.

He went on to say that Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoygu informed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about the contacts during a visit to Pyongyang last Friday.

“Our Korean friends do not have even a shadow of concern that they can somehow influence the comprehensive strategic partnership between our countries, the relations of fraternal friendship between the Korean and Russian peoples, cemented by the bloodshed of their shared blood,” he added.