Overview
- The one-kilometre Iakov Novitchenko road bridge officially opened on Monday, Sept. 7, and links Khassan in Russia with Tumangang in North Korea with two lanes for vehicles.
- A new Khassan border facility was built alongside the bridge and is reported to be able to process up to 300 vehicles and 2,325 people per day.
- Russian and North Korean officials hailed the bridge as a boost to trade, transport and political ties and said it will expand cooperation in fields such as technology, culture and tourism.
- Human-rights groups and analysts warn the link could be used as a logistical corridor for troops, workers or military-related materiel, a risk that could complicate enforcement of international sanctions.
- The bridge joins near-complete overland links with China to form stronger continent-wide routes that analysts say helped lift North Korea’s recent foreign-currency receipts and GDP, and that may expand worker flows and trade in the region.