North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge on Monday in a carefully choreographed display of friendship.The structure, which crosses the Tumen river, has been cast by both sides as an important milestone ‌in their deepening strategic partnership.The first flag-adorned trucks trundled across the 1km (0.6-mile) long two-lane bridge as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korea’s Premier Pak Thae Song tuned in by video link to address workers and government officials from both countries.Construction of the new bridge, which had been under discussion for years, began in April last year after the project was agreed during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in 2024.North Korean trucks cross the new Russia-North Korea road bridge over the Tumen river, during the opening ceremony on Monday. Photo: Handout / Russian Transport Ministry / AFPThere are already direct air ⁠and rail links between Moscow and Pyongyang, but until Monday there had not been a proper road link.Instead, since 1959 and by ‌special arrangement, planks had been placed on the nearby rail bridge – for decades the sole border crossing point – in order to move vehicles across the border between the two countries.