SEOUL: North Korea and Russia have begun building their first road link, the two countries announced, hailing the construction of a bridge over a border river as a major development that will further expand their booming ties. Russia's Tass news agency reported that the bridge would be 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long and its construction is expected to take 1 ½ years. North Korea's Korean Central News Agency said Thursday the bridge would expand cross-border travel of people, tourism and circulation of commodities. Relations and exchange programs between the two countries have been flourishing in recent years, with North Korea supplying ammunitions and troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine.120789553 North Korea has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024 amid slowly easing pandemic curbs, but Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled. In 2023, about 97% of North Korea's external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia. There are currently at least 17 active road and rail links across the long, porous border between North Korea and China, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. One railway bridge and air service already connect North Korea and Russia, and in June 2024 the two countries agreed to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen River, which runs along North Korea's borders with Russia and China. On Thursday, North Korea and Russia simultaneously held a ground-breaking ceremony for the bridge's construction in their respective border cities, according to the two countries' state media agencies. The agencies said North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin attended the ceremony via video links. Pak said the bridge's construction would be remembered as "a historic monument" in bilateral ties, KCNA reported Thursday. "This is a big milestone for Russian-Korean relation," Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said, according to Tass. "We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue." On Monday, North Korea confirmed for the first time that it has sent combat troops to Russia to help it reclaim parts of the Kursk region that Ukraine forces seized in a stunning incursion last year. Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea and promised not to forget the sacrifices of North Korean soldiers for Russia. According to a South Korean government intelligence assessment shared with lawmakers on Wednesday, North Korea has sent about 15,000 soldiers to Russia, and 4,700 of them have been killed or wounded. In return for North Korea's supply of conventional arms, Russia has given it air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches, according to the South Korean assessment.