North Korea Commissions Second Nuclear-Capable Destroyer; Russia Opens Border Road Bridge

Russia and North Korea opened the first road bridge across the Tumen River on Monday, directly linking Russia’s Primorye region with North Korea.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korean counterpart Pak Thae Song launched traffic via video link. Primorye Governor Oleg Kozhemyako stated the new route will ensure reliable supplies and expand trade and economic cooperation. The crossing, including access roads, stretches about 4.7 km, with the bridge itself approximately 1 km long and carrying two lanes of traffic.

Construction began in April 2025 under a 2024 agreement. The bridge is named after Soviet officer Yakov Novichenko, who shielded Kim Il Sung from a grenade in 1946. A new Khasan road checkpoint is designed to process up to 300 vehicles and 2,850 people daily. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the ceremony with his daughter.

Kim stated the nuclear armament of North Korea’s navy makes it possible to exercise its nuclear deterrent in a more diversified, practical manner. He said the new destroyer would be part of a nuclear response system capable of delivering annihilating retaliatory strikes and vowed to build a nuclear-armed navy. Kang Kon is the second ship of its class, following Choe Hyon, commissioned on June 23, 2026.

The Choe Hyon-class destroyers are described as the largest, most heavily armed, and most advanced warships operated by North Korea, capable of carrying various conventional and nuclear weapons. The commissioning occurred as the U.S., South Korea, and Japan began a trilateral military exercise, Freedom Edge, near Jeju island, which South Korean Navy Rear Adm. Kim Ji Hoon said aims to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Russia and North Korea have deepened military and economic ties since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, signing a mutual defense treaty in 2024.