Mikhail Mishustin and Premier of the Cabinet of the DPRK Pak Thae-song attended a ceremony marking the completion of a road bridge across the Tumannaya River

The Prime Ministers of Russia and North Korea attended the ceremony via a video conference.

Mikhail Mishustin's remarks

Remarks by Premier of the Cabinet of the DPRK Pak Thae-song

A ceremony marking the completion of a road bridge across the Tumannaya River, linking the two countries, was held today on the border between the Russian Federation (Khasan, the Primorye Territory) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The agreement on the implementation of the project was signed in 2024 in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong Un. The construction of the bridge was launched on 30 April 2025, by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Premier of the Cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Pak Thae-song.

The construction of the bridge symbolises the commitment of Russia and the DPRK to strengthening friendly, good-neighbourly relations and expanding interregional cooperation.

Despite sharing a border, the two countries previously had no automobile road connection. The existing railway link via the Druzhba Bridge across the Tumannaya River was insufficient to meet their transport needs. The new bridge will provide a year-round road connection between the two countries. It is particularly important for the Far Eastern Federal District, and first of all, for the Primorye Territory, where it will create additional opportunities for businesses and local residents and contribute to the development of transport and logistics infrastructure.

The new route will enable businesses to significantly increase freight volumes and reduce transportation costs, ensuring reliable and stable supplies of a wide range of goods and thereby facilitating the expansion of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The new road bridge was officially named the Yakov Novichenko Bridge in honour of the Red Army officer and Hero of Labour of the DPRK who, in 1946, shielded Comrade Kim Il Sung with his body from a grenade.

The entire bridge crossing is almost 5 kilometres long, while the bridge itself is approximately 1 kilometre long and has two traffic lanes. More than 70 people and over 30 pieces of equipment were involved in its construction.

The Khasan border crossing was built simultaneously with the bridge. Its design provides for 10 traffic lanes. Once fully operational, the crossing will be able to handle 300 vehicles and 2,325 people per day, with capacity for further expansion.

Excerpts from the transcript:

Mikhail Mishustin: Comrade Pak Thae-song, colleagues, friends,

Welcome to the ceremony marking the completion of the modern bridge across the Tumannaya River and the launch of the first road crossing, which will further strengthen the ties between our friendly countries.

The intergovernmental agreement on the construction of this landmark transport facility was signed on the sidelines of the meeting between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un two years ago in Pyongyang.

Last spring, we jointly launched this ambitious project. Now, just 16 months later, we are witnessing a truly historic event.

A state border checkpoint was also built here in record time.

It was designed to accommodate projected growth in freight and passenger traffic and will be capable of handling up to 300 vehicles a day.

The access road is connected to the Ussuri Federal Motorway, which forms part of the West-East International Transport Corridor through which high-speed traffic will pass from St Petersburg to Vladivostok.

Relations between Russia and the DPRK are currently at an unprecedented level of comprehensive strategic partnership. Our countries are actively cooperating in virtually all areas and coordinating efforts to ensure regional security and stability.

It is symbolic that the new bridge will be named after Red Army officer Yakov Novichenko. His heroic deed, accomplished many years ago, echoes the unparalleled courage of the Korean heroes who recently fought shoulder to shoulder with our soldiers and defended Russian soil.

I am confident that the expansion of border transport infrastructure will give a powerful impetus to the further development of trade, economic, scientific, technological, and cultural cooperation between Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

We are expanding logistics capacity in the Far East and creating additional opportunities to strengthen interregional ties and industrial cooperation. This will create new jobs and open up new horizons for tourism as well.

Friends,

The friendship, good-neighbourliness, and mutual assistance between our nations have stood the test of time and do not depend on external circumstances. They have repeatedly demonstrated their strength. We will continue to do everything necessary to develop these relations comprehensively.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the workers, engineers, builders, and designers - to all the teams that took part in this large-scale construction project. Their dedication and professionalism have made an important contribution to our common cause.

Thank you for your work. I wish you all success.

Pak Thae-song (retranslated): Esteemed Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Comrade Mikhail Mishustin, comrades and friends,

Today, we are experiencing a significant moment - the completion of a road bridge named after Red Army officer and fighter-internationalist Yakov Novichenko across the Tumannaya River. This is happening in an atmosphere of great attention and hope on the part of governments and peoples of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. The bridge symbolises friendship and cooperation between our two countries. Its construction was launched on 30 April 2025 and successfully completed over a shortest possible time period - only 495 days - thanks to the active support and efforts of governments and peoples of our countries.

First of all, allow me to express profound gratitude to designers and builders of our two countries who worked tirelessly, exerted efforts and strength to build the road bridge across the Tumannaya River. This monumental structure symbolises traditional Korean-Russian friendship.

I would also like to express sincere gratitude to representatives of various specialised agencies of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation for their selfless assistance to completing this bridge as quickly as possible.

The bridge across the Tumannaya River has been completed during an exciting moment when, owing to outstanding far-sightedness and strategic guidance of the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia, our countries are actively planning and implementing mutually beneficial exchanges and long-term cooperation projects in all spheres, including politics, the economy and culture, on the basis of the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is a truly significant event giving a new impetus to all aspects of bilateral cooperation and promising its bright development prospects.

The successful completion of the bridge across the Tumannaya River, an important part of agreements reached between Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Comrade Kim JongUn, and President of the Russian Federation, Comrade Vladimir Putin, guarantees that it will be possible to invigorate mutually beneficial exchanges and cooperation between our countries in the future.

This amazing reality, when monumental structures embodying Korean-Russian friendship and cooperation, about which we dreamed and which we planned, are created one after another, increase the joy and jubilation of peoples of our two countries and impart an inexhaustible vital force to the development of relations between our countries.

The governments of our countries, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation, acting on the basis of wonderful successes and experience, achieved during construction of the road bridge across the Tumannaya River, will continue to strive to achieve more practical results in our cooperation which justifies the hopes and wishes of the peoples of our two countries striving for joint development and prosperity.

At this significant moment, I would like to express confidence and hope that the road bridge across the Tumannaya River which has been built thanks to the common efforts of the peoples of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation will make an impressive contribution to economic development and to improving living standards of the peoples of our countries.

I hereby declare that the road bridge across the Tumannaya River is now complete.

Yang Yong Jin (DPRK Minister of Land and Environment Protection ) : Comrade Premier of the Cabinet of Ministers,

The construction of the road bridge across the Tumannaya River has been completed.

Pak Thae-song: I allow the start of traffic on the bridge.

Andrei Nikitin: Mr Mishustin, the construction of the Yakov Novichenko road bridge across the Tumannaya River has been completed. Please allow us to start traffic.

Mikhail Mishustin: I do. Safe travels!

Pak Thae-song (retranslated) : Comrades, friends,

The road bridge across the Tumannaya River is a structure worthy of our pride. It has been built owing to the sincere aspirations and wishes of the peoples of both countries that are ready to adorn the Korean-Russian friendship even to a greater extent.

This bridge will provide a strong incentive to the vigorous struggle of the peoples of the DPRK and Russia to build our powerful and prosperous states. It will also make a strategic contribution to and play an important role in promoting bilateral economic cooperation.

The friendly relations between the DPRK and Russia, which are a common property of the peoples of both countries, will last forever as will the incessant and irrepressible flow of the Tumannaya River.

I call on everyone, while wholeheartedly supporting the noble idea of the leaders of the DPRK and Russia, to make selfless efforts in the name of eternal and unbounded development and strengthening of Korean-Russian friendship and approximation of a bright and brilliant future for both countries.

Long live the indestructible friendship and cohesion of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia!

Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, Comrade Pak Thae-song and all our Russian and Korean colleagues for their extensive joint work.

I would like to stress once again that we appreciate highly our special, friendly and allied relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

We cherish the sincere and trust-based dialogue between our leaders - President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK Kim Jong Un.

The two governments will ensure the implementation of decisions adopted at the highest level with an eye to building up even further Russian-Korean across-the-board cooperation.

Let me congratulate once again the participants in today's event on successful implementation of this important initiative - for the benefit of citizens of our countries. Today, we see the result of joint efforts and concerted work.

Building the bridge is not just an engineering project but a symbol of friendship, which will serve the peoples of Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for decades.

I wish you luck and all the best.