Historic Russia-North Korea road link opens after completion of bridge over Tumen River

Russia and North Korea on Tuesday opened road traffic across a bridge over the Tumen River.

Speaking at the opening ceremony via video link, Russian Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin noted that road traffic between the two countries appeared for the first time in history and became possible thanks to the construction of the road bridge, which was completed today.

"Direct road traffic will appear between the countries for the first time. The most important stages of construction have been completed in less than a year," Nikitin said.

The bridge crossing is nearly 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) long, with the bridge itself measuring 1 km. It contains two traffic lanes. On the Russian side, 70 people and 30 pieces of equipment were involved in building the bridge.