The bridge, which will span a total of 2.9 miles including approach roads, with 424 metres on the Russian side and 581 metres within North Korea, is expected to strengthen development of economic, trade, and cultural ties between the two nations, the Russian Transport Ministry said. The only other land connection between Russia and North Korea is a Soviet-era rail bridge known as the 'Friendship Bridge'. Satellite imagery and publicly shared photos from the construction site show the span now stretching fully across the river, with workers from both countries finishing decking and structural works.
Recent transport cooperation has also included the first direct passenger flight from Moscow to Pyongyang since the 1990s, which took place in July 2025. The flight was operated by Nordwind Airlines. The Transport Ministry said at the time that the service would operate once a month to build consistent demand and increase passenger occupancy on the route. Discussions are currently underway to train and retrain North Korean civil aviation specialists at Russian educational institutions, according to the ministry.
During a meeting in St Petersburg earlier this month, Russian and North Korean transport ministers signed an agreement on the 'mutual recognition of seafarers’ certificates'. The agreement will enable crew members to serve on both Russian and North Korean vessels under a shared set of training and certification standards. Work is continuing on the development of the Khasan vehicle checkpoint in the Russian border town of Khasan. Once operational, the checkpoint is expected to handle around 300 vehicles and more than 2,000 people per day.
The parties also discussed cooperation in railway transport, noting positive dynamics in passenger traffic, which quadrupled in the first two months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, officials said. The exact completion date for the bridge opening remains unclear, as does the current status of the Khasan checkpoint development. The number of North Korean civil aviation specialists expected to be trained in Russia has not been disclosed, and the specific cost breakdown or funding source for the £73 million project has not been revealed. Passenger traffic volume on the Moscow-Pyongyang flight route so far is also unknown.