Russia and North Korea are finishing their first direct road link, a two-lane bridge across the Tumen River between Khasan and Tumangang, in a project the Ukrainian NGO Truth Hounds says is designed as a discreet military logistics corridor rather than a commercial crossing.
Satellite imagery shows North Korea completed its side, including customs and quarantine facilities, ahead of a planned 19 June 2026 opening. Russia, however, has fallen behind on warehouses and loading bays, and no revised date has been set. The project is estimated to have cost more than $100 million, far exceeding the roughly $34 million in bilateral trade recorded in 2024.
The crossing emerges against deepening military cooperation: more than 14,000 North Korean troops have fought in the Kursk region, with at least 2,000 killed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Pyongyang is preparing to deploy a further 30,000 soldiers.