China
North Korea Strengthens Ties with China and Russia
Satellite imagery reveals rapid construction of two new bridges connecting North Korea with Russia and China, enhancing Pyongyang’s economic and strategic options. Experts suggest these projects could signify North Korea’s strengthening ties with both countries, while undermining international sanctions.
Satellite imagery analyzed by Radio Free Asia shows rapid progress on a new road bridge connecting North Korea and Russia across the Tumen River, while construction is also accelerating on a long-delayed bridge linking North Korea and China.
Experts told RFA the bridges will help expand Pyongyang’s economic and strategic options as it draws closer to Beijing and Moscow.
The two bridges could also symbolize Pyongyang’s growing strategic leverage as cooperation among North Korea, China and Russia deepens, analysts said.
“Now, through these two bridges, North Korea is gaining access to China and Russia as vast economic and logistical backyards,” Im Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul, told RFA. “This can also be interpreted as a message to the United States that North Korea has less reason to denuclearize or make major concessions simply to secure economic benefits through negotiations with Washington.”
RFA previously reported that experts believe the new bridges may provide a means for China and Russia to further undercut international sanctions on North Korea, meant to deprive Pyongyang of cash and resources that could be funneled into its nuclear and missile programs.
Construction accelerates
Construction on both bridges has accelerated significantly, particularly in August, the satellite imagery shows.
At the Tumen River Bridge, which connects North Korea’s northeastern city of Rason with Russia’s Khasan, the main road connecting the bridge to the Russian border checkpoint has been paved, and parking and inspection areas for cargo trucks are close to completion, including concrete and asphalt paving, Bruce Songhak Chung, a senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Security Strategy, told RFA.
“The roofs and exterior work on the immigration inspection and administrative buildings appear to be nearly complete, while interior equipment and customs-related systems are likely being installed,” Chung said.
Joung Eunlee, director of the Seoul-based Korea Institute for National Unification, visited Hunchun, in China’s northeastern province of Jilin, in mid-August, a vantage point from which China, North Korea and Russia are all visible. She said construction on the Russian side appeared to be moving quickly.
“They were using heavy machinery and there were many workers on site,” Joung said. “I think the bridge will open before the end of this year, possibly in September.”
Meanwhile, construction is also rapidly progressing on customs facilities on the North Korean side of the New Yalu River Bridge, which links North Korea’s northwestern city of Sinuiju with China’s Dandong.
The bridge was completed 12 years ago but has remained unused because the two sides could not agree on financing the remaining infrastructure. Satellite imagery taken Aug. 30 shows that paving on the connecting road and customs compound is nearly finished, raising the possibility that the bridge could open by year’s end.
A new gate has been installed in front of the customs facility, while work on the exterior walls and roofs of the buildings appears to be nearing completion.
North Korea appears to be seeking to open both bridges simultaneously to establish dual land routes to Russia and China and maximize economic benefits of its ties with both countries, Im said.
“China and Russia are also encouraging the completion of the infrastructure to further strengthen their strategic ties with North Korea,” he said. “The important point is that, unlike in the past, engagement with North Korea has become both beneficial and necessary for China and Russia.”
Mutual interests
The Tumen River Bridge was designed to handle up to 300 vehicles and 2,850 people across the border per day and was originally scheduled to open on June 19, 2026, but unfinished infrastructure on the Russian side has delayed this.
The bridge is already “ready for operation,” Ivan Stepanov, head of the Khasan district administration, told Russia’s state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta in July. He also said that officials planned to open it in early…
Read the rest of this article here >>> Bridges to China, Russia preparing to open as North Korea deepens ties with both
