The trade turnover between Putin and Kim is constantly increasing.
Western media have noted the progress in the construction of a road bridge over the Tumangan River, which marks the border between Russia and North Korea. The magazine Newsweek, in particular, highlights that the project's implementation is already visible in satellite images: six bridge supports have been built in North Korea, and pits have been dug for the pouring of two more.
Russian colleagues are also making progress: two supporting pillars have already been installed. The advancement from the Korean side is 152 meters, while from the Russian side it is 110 meters.
The agreement to construct the border bridge over the Tumangan River was signed on June 19, 2024, during a visit to North Korea by a Russian government delegation. The total length of the bridge, including access roads, is expected to be 4.7 km.
The parties intend to complete the project within two years. A multifunctional port complex, a customs terminal, warehouses, and several service stations are being built near the bridge. Overall, the project is expected to revitalize and elevate bilateral trade to a new level, observers note. One of the project's features will be a specialized parking area that allows for the transloading of goods between Russian and Korean trucks without drivers crossing the border.
To support the construction, Russia has created a large supply base and a temporary concrete plant about a kilometer north of the construction site, as well as begun laying a new 1.9 km road from the existing road leading to the border Russian settlement of Hasan.
Satellite images from October 14, 2025, also show a high level of railway activity: a freight train is heading from Hasan to Tumangan (a station in North Korea near the border). The train consists of two locomotives, eight freight cars, one gondola, and three tankers. On the southern railway tracks in Tumangan, nine locomotives and about 80 cars have been recorded. This level of activity, according to analysts at CSIS, confirms that trade between Russia and North Korea is not only being maintained but is also growing.
