内容摘要：. As the two countries fired missiles and drones at each other, the region witnessed mass cancellations of tourist bookings. New Delhi and Islamabad reached a

. As the two countries fired missiles and drones at each other, the region witnessed mass cancellations of tourist bookings. New Delhi and Islamabad reached a

and circulation of commodities.Relations and exchange programs between the two countries have been flourishing in recent years, with North Korea supplying

and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.North Korea has been receivingsince 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.A man looks for plastic items at Karakoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A man looks for plastic items at Karakoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)In the evening, his father brings his truck around and they load up the days’ haul of paper and plastic from Dogan and others in the area to sell to recycling facilities. After being processed, it will be used in industrial applications or reused as carton and paper.

Late at night, thieves sometimes stop them on the streets, asking for money.“If we refuse, they threaten us,” Dogan says. “We work more than 12 hours, sometimes 17 (a day). If we take a day off, we go hungry.”