Russia's Far Eastern Primorsky Krai on the 12th local time predicted that Russian tourists traveling to North Korea will increase once the Tumen River bridge is completed. Primorsky Krai borders North Korea.
According to Tass, the Primorsky Krai tourism department said, "When the bridge opens, the number of tourists flowing from Russia to North Korea will increase, and trade volume between Russia and North Korea is expected to expand."
The Primorsky Krai tourism department said that in theory, with a single bus ride it would be possible to travel to North Korea without transfers, adding, "It will be similar to traveling to the Chinese border area." It added, however, that this is still at the conjecture stage.
Natalia Naboychenko, Primorsky Krai tourism minister, said of North Korean visitors to Primorsky Krai, "They are mainly participants in business meetings, trade exchanges, and sports and cultural events," and "We introduced to them the tourism potential of Vladivostok, the regional capital of Primorsky Krai."
She went on to explain, "We have not abandoned plans to receive group tourists from North Korea, but this will be a long and difficult task that multiple ministries must carry out together."
If transportation consolidation between Russia and North Korea expands, the number of Russian tourists visiting North Korea appears likely to increase. However, measures to increase the number of North Korean residents visiting Russia purely for travel purposes are expected to be difficult.
The Tumen River bridge linking the Russia–North Korea border area is under construction at a length of about 1 kilometer. Work began in Apr. last year, and completion is scheduled for Jun. 19 this year.
Russia plans to install the Khasan automobile checkpoint near the bridge with 10 lanes, capable of processing up to 300 vehicles and 2,850 people per day.