New Russia–North Korea bridge? Investigation says it could support Moscow's war effort
The Russia–North Korea Friendship Bridge is actually being built to support the continuation of the war (photo: wikimedia.org)
The first-ever road bridge between Russia and North Korea is in the final stages of construction. For Ukraine, it could become another serious challenge, The Guardian reports.
According to the journalists, the bridge will span the Tumen River and will be approximately one kilometer long and seven meters wide.
It will have two traffic lanes and will form part of a transport crossing with a total length of 4.7 kilometers, including access roads.
Interestingly, Moscow and Pyongyang publicly present it as a project intended to promote trade and tourism between the two countries.
However, The Guardian cites an investigation by the Ukrainian human rights organization Truth Hounds. The investigation claims that the bridge is being built for an entirely different purpose.
According to the investigators, it is being constructed to create a concealed military logistics corridor.
The head of the investigation, Nazar Myhun, explained that road transport is much easier to conceal than rail transport. According to him, the road networks of Russia and North Korea are far more extensive than their railway networks, making them significantly more difficult to monitor using satellites.
Moreover, loading and unloading trucks takes less time than handling railway freight cars, which remain visible to satellites for longer periods.
"The type of railcar visible in an image reveals a great deal about the cargo, and certain categories of goods are transported in open railcars, which allows them to be identified," Myhun explained.
By contrast, trucks appear almost identical to one another in satellite imagery. In addition, they can be loaded virtually anywhere, whereas rail transport is tied to a limited number of fixed hubs, making it much easier to monitor.
According to Myhun, the project is specifically aimed at creating strategic infrastructure between Russia and North Korea.
The bridge could become a corridor for the deployment of North Korean military personnel, construction brigades, and military officials to Russia, as well as for the movement of Russian technology and resources in the opposite direction.
For Ukraine, this will become another serious challenge amid the full-scale war with Russia.
Recently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the Russian leader is laying the groundwork for expanding mobilization in Russia.
The Kremlin also reacted nervously to the Ukrainian leader's statement about 30,000 North Korean soldiers.
It is important to understand that the new wave of mobilization in Russia will indeed be large-scale.
