Russia and North Korea opened the first road bridge linking the two countries on Monday, coming after months of construction delays.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song presided over a ceremony via video link to mark the official launch of traffic along the two-lane bridge, which stretches one kilometer (0.6 miles) over the Tumen River.
Mishustin hailed bilateral relations as being at an “unprecedentedly high level of comprehensive strategic partnership,” adding that the bridge, which cost 9 billion rubles ($104 million), would boost trade and tourism.
A rail bridge, built in the 1950s, already connects the two countries.
The new road bridge is named after Yakov Novichenko, a Soviet officer who saved North Korean founder Kim Il Sung by shielding him from a grenade explosion in Pyongyang in 1946.
