Construction work on the first road bridge to connect Russia and North Korea has begun on the Russian side, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, after the project started on the DPRK side in November.

The new activity comes after Moscow approved funding for the bridge last month and the leaders of the two countries signed an agreement in June to move the project forward after years of roadblocks.

It also follows the recent reopening of passenger train service using the existing rail bridge nearby, connecting Khasan Station in Russia with the Tumangang Station in North Korea.

Planet Labs satellite imagery shows trees were cleared on the banks of the Russian side of the Tumen River between Dec. 17 and 19, right across from a new road on the DPRK side that appears related to the bridge construction plan.

The activity on the Russian side appears minor and preliminary in nature, but it lines up geographically with North Korea’s new road and suggests both sides are actively pushing the project forward.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin revealed during a meeting with deputy ministers on Dec. 23 that a five-year plan set to expire in 2028 was expanded to include the project to build a “bridge across the Tumen River” connected to the DPRK.

It’s still unclear if Russian or North Korean companies, funding and labor will lead the construction on the roughly 1,015-foot (310-meter) bridge.

The project could build new customs and processing facilities in addition to the bridge and connecting highway sections. The new bridge could also include both road and rail infrastructure to replace the old rail bridge entirely. 

Russia may be planning to upgrade the rail station area as well, as Planet Labs imagery shows that a large, aging warehouse in the station’s railyard was demolished in the last five weeks of 2024.

The two sides held serious working-level talks on the road bridge project from 2018 to 2019, but plans fizzled, likely due to North Korea closing its borders at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

A highway connecting the two countries could increase trade volumes, though experts have expressed skepticism about whether there will be enough traffic to justify its cost.

Freight train shipments between Tumangang and Khasan appeared to increase last year. North Korea may have sent weapons such as Koksan artillery systems via the rail connection, as videos have emerged of the tank-like vehicles moving across Russia on flat rail cars. Bilateral weapons trade has also taken place via cargo ships out of Rason Port just to the south.

North Korea recently upgraded Tumangang Station with a large new covering over the tracks, possibly related to plans to increase international passenger traffic through the station.

Edited by Bryan Betts