Russia Gifts Lion Cub Named 'Tuman River' to North Korea to Mark Tuman River Bridge Construction

"Agreement Reached on Timeline for Tuman River Automobile Bridge Operations"
Schedule Remains Undisclosed

Russia has gifted a lion cub named "Tuman River" to North Korea to commemorate the construction of an automobile bridge over the Tuman River.

Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and Chairman of the Russian side of the Korea-Russia Intergovernmental Trade, Economic and Scientific-Technological Cooperation Committee, and his delegation departed Pyongyang on the 29th, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 30th. Yonhap News

On July 30, the Russian Embassy in North Korea announced via Telegram that Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and the Russian chairman of the Russia-North Korea Intergovernmental Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, visited North Korea from July 28 to 29 and achieved these results.

Minister Kozlov, who used the direct Pyongyang flight that resumed after 33 years, donated the lion cub he brought on this flight to the Pyongyang Zoo.

The embassy stated, "To commemorate the start of construction of the border bridge, the new member of the zoo will be named 'Tuman River.' This is another significant event aimed at strengthening exchanges between the zoos of the two capitals."

Meanwhile, the embassy reported that Minister Kozlov and North Korea's Minister of External Economic Relations, Yun Jongho, reached an agreement during their talks on the timeline for the start of operations of the Tuman River automobile bridge, which began construction in April this year. However, the specific schedule was not disclosed.

This bridge is being built in accordance with the agreement reached at the summit between Chairman Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June last year, and construction is expected to be completed around the end of next year.

Currently, there is a railway bridge over the Tuman River that connects North Korea's Tuman River Station and Russia's Khasan Station by train, but there is no road bridge for automobiles.