HONG KONG — North Korea is opening up to its neighbors, expanding transport links as it seeks economic relief and balances its deepening ties to two major global powers.
The reclusive, nuclear-armed state this week inaugurated its first road link with Russia, and also appears to be finishing a long-stalled bridge with China, according to satellite imagery reviewed by NBC News.
It’s a delicate tightrope Kim Jong Un is walking, analysts say, as Pyongyang tries to simultaneously cultivate relations with both Moscow and Beijing.
For the Kremlin, North Korea is a crucial ally in the war with Ukraine, providing munitions and boots on the ground. For China, it’s a long-standing geopolitical ally and trade partner yet one whose growing nuclear arsenal and support for Russia’s war is a source of constant instability in the region.
