The first permanent road link between Russia and North Korea is nearing completion, an infrastructure that, according to the Guardiancould strengthen military cooperation between the two countries in the conflict in Ukraine. The bridge crosses the Tumen River, between Khasan, in the Russian Far East, and Tumangang, North Korea.
The works and the postponement of the inauguration
Pyongyang has already completed its part of the work, including customs and quarantine facilities, while Moscow is behind schedule and has not yet announced a new inauguration date, initially scheduled for June 19. The project comes while, remember the GuardianUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims that Russia is preparing to receive another 30,000 North Korean soldiers, following Pyongyang’s previous deployment of troops in support of Moscow.
Because trucks are harder to track than trains
According to the Guardianwhich cites an investigation by the Ukrainian group Truth Hounds, the new crossing would offer a logistics corridor more difficult to monitor via satellite than the existing railway between the two countries. Trucks are in fact more difficult to identify than rail wagons and can be loaded and unloaded in many more places, making Western surveillance less effective.
Moscow and Pyongyang instead claim that the bridge will serve to increase trade, tourism and economic connections, but Truth Hounds believes that the main value of the work is of a strategic-military nature.