Kathmandu. North Korea has presented the first road bridge with Russia as a symbol of growing relations and cooperation between the two countries. The bridge over the Tyumen River was inaugurated on Monday.

North Korean official Pak Thai Sung said the completion of the bridge was an important milestone in bilateral cooperation. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also said that the bridge will further strengthen relations between the two countries.

Military and economic cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang has intensified since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia’s Kursk region in 2024 to fight Ukrainian forces. The two countries signed a mutual defense treaty that same year.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s central bank said the North’s economy grew by more than 3 percent for the third year in a row in 2025, citing economic cooperation with Russia as one of the main reasons for that.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian rights group Truth Hound has warned that the new bridge could serve as a route to send North Korean troops and military officers to Russia, and could also be used to bring Russian technology and resources into the country.