Russia and North Korea opened their first new car bridge to vehicle traffic on Monday, Russian wire services reported, at an official ceremony marking the completion of the crossing across the Tumen River.

Russian state-run TASS News Agency reported on the opening of the new motorway link, with Interfax adding that Russia has also completed the construction of its Khasan border checkpoint.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin joined the ceremony remotely along with his counterpart Pak Thae Song to launch the infrastructural project, according to the outlets.

The bridge bears the name of Soviet officer Yakov Novichenko, who saved North Korea’s first leader Kim Il Sung from an assassination attempt in 1946.

The existing Korea-Russia Friendship Bridge, a railway crossing located upstream on the Tumen River, has been the only link connecting the two countries since the late 1950s.

Automobile columns from each side crossed the bridge following Mishustin and Pak’s speeches, with a car that belonged to Novichenko leading the Russian procession, according to TASS.

Russian Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov, Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin, Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Alexei Chekunkov, Primorsky Krai Gov. Oleg Kozhemyako and DPRK Ambassador to Russia Sin Hong Chol also attended the ceremony.

The roughly kilometer-long bridge will form part of a larger 4.7-km Russian border crossing project linking the Russian and DPRK checkpoint facilities on both sides of the river. 

The bridge features 16 sections between columns, with the seventh and eighth sections built jointly by the two countries. The foundations reach depths of up to 45 meters on the North Korean side and up to 30 meters on the Russian side.

The Russian crossing will have 10 lanes and the capacity to process 300 vehicles and 2,850 people each day, according to Russia’s transport ministry.

Mishustin and Pak kicked off the large-scale construction project remotely at a ceremony in April 2025. The two countries held another ceremony marking the physical connection of the bridge the following year. 

Preparation for the project began months in advance, with early signs reported in Nov. 2024. Russia initially agreed to allocate some $100 million for the project and hired an obscure company named TonnelYuzhStroi as its main contractor.

Construction on the North Korean side was largely finalized in the summer, while Russia is still adding finishing touches to its crossing facility following the installation of the main and auxiliary buildings in recent weeks.

NK News/NK Pro investigations found the project’s cost had at least doubled as of late August, while TonnelYuzhStroi appeared to be a front for a large Chechen construction conglomerate and ultimate beneficiary.

The two countries initially planned to open the crossing on June 19, which marks the second anniversary of the summit between Russian and DPRK leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, where they agreed to spearhead the construction.

The project faced delays, with a local official later reporting that the two sides aimed to finalize construction in early September. As of late August, Russian authorities reported that the crossing was only 65% complete.

Despite the completion ceremony, it remains unclear whether the bridge will see regular inbound and outbound vehicle traffic between the two countries.

Edited by David Choi.

Updated at 4:07 p.m. KST on Sept. 7, 2026 with information on launching the bridge