Bridges are ending North Korea's famed isolation. Some fear what comes next

North Korea has long held the reputation as the world's most closed-off and secretive nation.

Now, the "Hermit Kingdom" is set to have two bridges linking it to its closest allies.

North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge on September 7.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called it a "powerful impetus for the further development of trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation".

Another bridge between North Korea and China is also nearing completion, according to South Korean satellite tracking.

But are the bridges merely trade pathways or potential military corridors?

North Korea reaps both goodwill and tech from Russia

North Korea's bridge to Russia crosses the Tumen River and is only 1 kilometre long.

Mr Mishustin has hailed the modest bridge as a sign of "unprecedented" friendship between the two nations.

It is even named after Red Army soldier Yakov Novichenko, who North Korea credits with thwarting an 1946 assassination attempt on Kim Il Sung, who would go on to serve as North Korea's communist leader from 1948 until his death in 1994.

The construction is symbolic as much as it is logistical, Nick Bisley, professor of international relations at La Trobe University, said.

"North Korea is a famously isolated country. It seeks to isolate itself from the outside world and the outside world tries to keep it at arm's length," he said.

"So building a new bridge is symbolically important in that context.

"The symbolism reflects growing ties between the two countries and the growing confidence that they have."

Moscow and Pyongyang previously placed planks on a nearby rail bridge to access each other's territory via road.

Now, up to 300 vehicles a day could travel from North Korea to as far as St Petersburg, a city and port in north-western Russia.

It has left some concerned about the repercussions for the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian investigative organisation Truth Hounds said the bridge would be a "direct artery" for moving troops and military officials into Russia.

Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in its fifth year, has dried up the number of Russian soldiers yet Mr Putin is expected to launch a second forced mobilisation of more than 500,000 civilians into the military to continue fighting.

Before: The bridge over the Tumen River, before. . After: and after September 6, 2026.(Planet Labs PBC). .

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South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy estimated North Korea had earnt up to $US14.4 billion ($20.53 billion) through supplying arms to Russia's war efforts.

Meanwhile, South Korea's spy agency said last year North Korea had sent 10,000–12,000 troops to fight on Russia's front lines.

Before, most weapons North Korea sent to Russia were shipped via sea, Justin Hastings, a professor of international relations at the University of Sydney, said.

"If it makes sense to ship certain weapons by truck, they will now be able to do that," he says.

"In theory, the road bridge also enables more efficient commercial trade, although what Russia — which is also sanctioned—has to offer in that space is limited compared to China."

While Professor Bisley saw the potential for increased threats to Ukraine, he said the infrastructure would bolster both nations' security objectives.

And in the case of North Korea, that could mean access to Russia's more sophisticated technology, including tech that could improve Pyongyang's missile arsenal.

"I actually think it's a bigger concern for Asia than it is for Ukraine,"

Professor Bisley said.

"Not to downplay that Ukrainians are in a proper fight, whereas what we're talking about in East Asia is hypothetical.

"But the difference that Russian support to North Korean military ambitions could make to strategic competition in Asia is very significant.

"Much more than the other way round."

Professor Bisley pointed to the US as a complicating factor.

US President Donald Trump said he would meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.

Late last month, Mr Trump announced he would scale back military exercises with South Korea as he found them "totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea.

"You don't need to be especially paranoid if you were sitting in Seoul — looking at Russia sidling up to North Korea developing capabilities whilst your ally America is sort of wandering off — and feeling somewhat more exposed than you were 18 months ago," Professor Bisley said.

"You've got an ambitious Russia, China, North Korea grouping, and you have an America that is at best distracted — at worst disinterested — in deterring and responding to the rising challenge of those three countries.

"If you're Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, this is a pretty disconcerting set of developments."

Chinese bridge marks new era in 'complicated' alliance

China's bridge is less about war and all about alliances, according to Professor Bisley.

The New Yalu River Bridge follows Beijing's efforts to draw Pyongyang back into its fold after the COVID-19 pandemic, and re-establish certainty in a notoriously "complicated" friendship.

"The Chinese see North Korea as much of a burden as it is an advantage," he said.

"The North Koreans are difficult to manage. And they do things that Beijing doesn't like pretty regularly.

"So a second bridge indicates that there's potentially some improvement in the relationship, and that there's some positive ways in which the PRC [People's Republic of China] may be looking at North Korea."

Construction on the New Yalu River Bridge began in 2011 but stalled on North Korea's side until recently.

Now structural work on a customs and immigration facility on the North Korean side of the 3km-long bridge will be finished by September, according to SI Analytics, a South Korean company that processes satellite images.

38 North, a publication of the Stimson Center that analyses North Korean policy, said the crossing also had large cargo processing capacities on both sides.

"Opening the new bridge will facilitate a greater volume of traffic between the two countries as they appear set to expand trade," the publication's Martyn Williams wrote.

Professor Bisley agreed, adding it might also be a shifting point for North Korea's relationship with its main trade partner.

"One thing that Beijing wants above all else … is that North Korea can look after itself and be a bit less dependent on China and a bit more capable of being integrated into the broader Chinese economic and political universe," he said.

A post-COVID 'return to form'

North Korea — home to about 26.6 million people — "virtually sealed" its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"North Korea took strong border closure measures for about three years before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, and responded without diagnostic equipment and vaccines," according to a paper published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Korean Medical Science.

While getting verified data was all but impossible, the researchers estimated at least 28,800 North Koreans died from coronavirus.

Against this backdrop, the new bridges might point to North Korea cautiously reopening.

"It's clearly a sign that the country is feeling a little bit more competent, connected more to the rest of the world — even if that's just the two countries with whom it feels pretty close bonds to," Professor Bisley said.

Professor Hastings said it was a "return to form" for North Korea.

"For most of the Cold War, North Korea played the USSR and China off each other," he said.

"The USSR's collapse meant that China was the main partner of North Korea, which made North Korea uncomfortable because there was no counter-balancing partner.

"In some sense, the rise of the North Korea–Russia relationship is … where they are most comfortable."

But it would also pose a fresh test for North Korea's vice-like grip on its citizens.

"The only bridge that has existed until now has always been very tightly guarded and policed, but it's still a place where people escape North Korea from," Professor Bisley said.