Russia and North Korea have postponed the opening of a road bridge due to problems — Bloomberg
The new road bridge between Russia and North Korea will not open anytime soon. According to Reuters, the opening of the bridge has been postponed due to unresolved technical and organizational issues.
According to the U.S. think tank 38 North, the opening was scheduled for mid-June, but satellite images revealed problems on the Russian side.
The construction of the 850-meter-long bridge across the Tumen River was agreed upon during Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June 2024. It was to become the first road link between the two countries. The Russian Embassy in Pyongyang announced in April that the bridge would open on June 19.
Analysts note that the bridge could eventually increase logistics activity by more than 40% and help North Korea reduce its dependence on China by expanding economic ties with Russia.
At the same time, satellite images indicate that the bridge itself across the river is likely already complete, and North Korean border facilities are essentially finished. However, on the Russian side, a significant amount of work remains to be done before the crossing can be put into operation.
“On the North Korean side, there is a large warehouse, a parking lot, paved access roads, and, by all appearances, a completed border post, whereas Russia’s probable customs complex is at a much less advanced stage and is likely to be at least three times larger,” analysts note.
Du Jin-ho, head of the Eurasia Center at the Korea Institute for National Strategy in Seoul, stated that the bridge was originally expected to open by the end of the year, and the accelerated timeline in June was more of a political “gift.”
According to him, the delay is unlikely to cause immediate economic damage, but it raises questions about the level of policy coordination between Moscow and Pyongyang, the agency reports.
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