North Korea and Russia aim to open their new road bridge across the Tumen River this summer, Moscow has announced, following a meeting between the two countries’ transport ministers.

The bridge’s completion ceremony and opening of traffic are scheduled for summer 2026, the Russian government said in a social media post on Friday.

The Russian Transport Ministry added in a separate release that the project is under the government’s “special oversight” and progressing on schedule. The bridge is set to “boost economic, trade and cultural ties” between the two countries, it added.

The ministry also stated that there is ongoing work to equip a road checkpoint in the Russian border town of Khasan. The checkpoint will be able to process 300 vehicles and over 2,000 people per day.

The latest announcements came after transport ministers Jo Jong Ryong and Andrei Nikitin held talks on the sidelines of a transportation and logistics forum in St. Petersburg.

According to the ministry, the two ministers highlighted expanding rail links during their talks, noting that passenger traffic rose fourfold in the first two months of 2026 on-year.

Six passenger train journeys between Vladivostok and North Korea’s Rajin are scheduled for this year, according to the ministry’s readout, compared to four last year.

The officials discussed “training and retraining DPRK civil aviation specialists at Russian institutions,” noting the resumption of direct Moscow-Pyongyang flights by Nordwind Airlines last year.

They also signed an agreement on the “mutual recognition of seafarers’ certificates,” which will allow crews to work on Russian and North Korean vessels under unified training standards.

CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES

The Russian government and state media previously reported that the deadline for completing the new road bridge is June 19, the second anniversary of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un’s summit in Pyongyang.

NK News analysis of Planet Labs satellite imagery shows steady progress at the site. The two sides linked the two sides of the bridge by late February and have laid metal decking for the motorway.

Photos posted on Chinese social media also show the bridge now spans the entire river, as well as Russian and North Korean workers on the structure.

Construction on customs and cargo facilities also shows progress. 

On the DPRK side, workers have nearly completed a facility with a green roof, as well as a second site that will likely serve as a checkpoint.

The Russian side has progressed at a slower pace, with concrete foundations laid across a larger area and a structural frame installed at a cargo facility, satellite imagery shows.

NK News previously reported that Russia agreed to spend more than $110 million on the bridge and crossing, while the checkpoint itself could exceed $173 million.

At the same time, procurement records suggest costs continue to rise.

Rosgranstroy, the agency overseeing the project, is seeking a contractor to build a $253,000 incinerator near the crossing, while Russia’s road authority plans to spend nearly $1.3 million on flood control infrastructure.

Another $10,000 is set to be spent to assess the site’s “vulnerabilities to unlawful interference,” apparently aiming to improve security around the site against possible sabotage and other disruptions.

Meanwhile, a large fire burned over 23 square miles on Russia’s side of the border in February, satellite imagery shows, though no damage to the bridge site was reported. Local authorities said someone started the fire with malicious intent.

Edited by Bryan Betts