By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/PYONGYANG/SEOUL (Worthy News) – Russia and North Korea have begun constructing a road bridge to strengthen their “strategic partnership” despite reports that hundreds of North Korean soldiers have died fighting for Russia.
The two countries confirmed that the bridge is constructed on the Tumen River, which forms the natural border between the allied nations.
Wednesday’s announcement came shortly after South Korean lawmakers said some 600 North Korean troops had been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine out of a total deployment of 15,000.
North Korea has suffered about 4,700 casualties so far, “including injuries and deaths,” the lawmakers said, citing South Korea’s intelligence sources.
However, its troops have shown signs of improved combat capabilities over about six months by using modern weapons like drones, the lawmakers added.
Russia’s prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, said. It comes after South Korean lawmakers said about 600 North Korean troops had been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
SIX MONTHS WARFARE
“After six months of participation in the war, the North Korean military has become less inept, and its combat capability has significantly improved as it becomes accustomed to using new weapons such as drones,” Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters, after being briefed by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
In return for dispatching troops and supplying weapons to Russia, Pyongyang appears to have received technical assistance on spy satellites, as well as drones and anti-air missiles, they said.
That was expected to raise eyebrows within South Korea and among allies who are already concerned about North Korea’s ongoing nuclear program.
Besides military support, North Korea also benefits from economic cooperation, underscored by constructing the Russian-North Korean road bridge on the Tumen River, which forms the natural border between the allied countries.
Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the plan would reduce transport costs, facilitate trade, and promote tourism.
“This is truly a milestone for Russian-Korean relations,” Mishustin said during a video meeting with Pak Thae-song, chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
President Donald Trump abruptly canceled planned U.S. strikes against Iran on Thursday, saying a multinational agreement to end the conflict had been approved by top Iranian leadership and was awaiting final documents and a formal signing.
Federal authorities said Thursday they have accounted for 146,000 unaccompanied migrant children who entered the United States during former President Joe Biden’s administration, while roughly 300,000 minors remain unaccounted for, amid allegations that many vulnerable children were placed with fraudulent sponsors and exposed to abuse, labor exploitation, and sex trafficking.
Congress left Washington without renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, allowing a key foreign surveillance authority used to track foreign terrorists and national security threats to expire Friday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on June 11 temporarily allowed President Donald Trump’s 10 percent global tariffs to remain in effect, extending a pause on a lower court ruling that had struck down the duties as unlawful.
Dutch police detained a young man l man after four people, including three children, were killed when a car struck a group of cyclists during a school outing near the Belgian border on Thursday, officials said.
The leaders of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are expected to meet this month amid growing debate within the European Union over how future member states should be admitted and monitored.
China has condemned the European Union’s ban on public funding for Chinese-made solar inverters, a move that analysts say could affect more than a fifth of new solar capacity and complicate efforts to meet the bloc’s self-imposed “climate targets.”