Russian checkpoint by North Korea car bridge 65% completed: authorities

Status update comes as Russia and North Korea reportedly gear up to open the new car link in early September

Russia is nearing the completion of a border checkpoint next to its newly built road bridge to North Korea, according to local authorities, just weeks ahead of the expected opening of the motorway link between the two states.

The assessment came as Russia’s Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor Alexander Voronin, Federal Security Service and customs officials and contractors inspected the border crossing, the prosecutor’s office announced Tuesday.

“The facility is currently 65% complete. The first phase provides for the construction of 10 vehicle lanes, including four for trucks, two for buses and two for passenger cars. Construction and installation work is currently ongoing,” the office said in a statement on the new Khasan-Tumangang crossing.

The project is in its final stages, the statement said, noting Voronin’s discussion of “outstanding issues” with officials.

A view of the border crossing on the Russian side of the Tumen River, featuring newly added buildings and facilities as of Aug. 2026 | Image: Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office

The Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor’s Office supplemented the release with new photographs of the bridge and the Russian crossing, showing several buildings already built or nearing completion. They also showed the new bridge covered with asphalt, as was previously seen in satellite imagery.

Planet Labs satellite imagery similarly confirms the construction’s progress, with a large part of the facility’s area now paved with concrete and ongoing work to connect the crossing to the adjacent highway.

The Russian border facility under construction, featuring several buildings and concrete pavement throughout as of Aug. 22, 2026 | Image: Planet Labs, edited by NK News

North Korea’s facility, albeit much smaller, was mostly completed by the summer, with some finishing touches added in June-July.

The two countries held a ceremony linking their sections of the bridge in April, roughly a year after construction officially kicked off, and aimed to launch the new crossing by June 19, the second anniversary of the 2024 Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong Un summit.

The head of the Khasan settlement next to the crossing, however, later clarified that the opening is slated for early September, likely coinciding with the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, with Putin expected to attend the event.

This prompted speculation about Putin attending the bridge’s opening ceremony and the possibility of Kim joining him on the occasion.

So far, Russian officials have provided few clues as to what to expect from the EEF and related events, with Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov not ruling out the possibility of Russia-DPRK contacts at the forum.

The project has recently faced additional headwinds, with its main contractor TonnelYuzhStroi, which is linked to Chechen construction elites, facing a $1.5 million lawsuit from one of its materials suppliers.

Russia also saw Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, who was in charge of the project, kill himself in Moscow last year; Putin swiftly appointed Andrey Nikitin as his replacement.

Russian Vice Premier Marat Khusnullin expressed confidence last week that the bridge facility will be completed this year, adding that it is close to being launched.

Edited by David Choi