NewzThe opening of the new bridge signals further progress in bilateral relations between Beijing and Pyongyang, weeks after North Korea opened its first road bridge with Russia. BEIJING (AP) — A new bridge linking China and North Korea is set to open on Thursday, more than a decade after the Chinese side of it was built, in the latest sign of closer ties between the two countries. The mammoth, 3-kilometer bridge will connect the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju.The bridge was initially expected to enter use in 2014, but the date came and went no sign of an opening.
In September 2014, the North Korean side ended in a dirt ramp with no customs or immigration buildings in sight.At that time, it prompted an unusually sharp report in the Global Times — a newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party — that quoted Dandong residents expressing frustration over delays in what they had hoped would be an economic boon for their border city.Foreign analysts suggested at the time that Pyongyang was wary of China’s economic influence in the country.China is Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner and major ally, though Beijing has expressed disapproval over the years at North Korea’s missile tests.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Beijing in September 2025 to attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the first time a North Korean leader appeared at a Chinese military parade in decades.The only current bridge between the two countries was built in 1937 when Korea was a Japanese colony. It carries a railway line, as well as cars and trucks, but vehicle traffic can move only one way at a time. The four-lane bridge was completed in 2014, but its opening was delayed by a lack of connecting roads and customs facilities.
(EPA Images pic)BEIJING: A new bridge linking China and North Korea will open this week, Chinese state media reported Wednesday, 12 years after its construction, in another sign of deepening economic relations between the Asian giant and its poor neighbour.The New Yalu River vehicle bridge, which will open on Thursday according to state broadcaster CCTV, links China's northeastern border city of Dandong to one of the most isolated countries in the world.The four-lane structure spanning 3,026 metres (9,927 feet) was completed in 2014 but saw its opening delayed due to issues such as the lack of connecting roads and customs facilities on the North Korean side, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.China is North Korea's largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the reclusive nuclear state.North Korea sealed its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic, and train journeys between the East Asian neighbours only restarted in March after a six-year halt.The new bridge is intended as an alternative to the decades-old Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, which was once regularly used by passenger trains but has limited capacity."Until now, exchanges across the Yalu River bridges in Dandong have been relatively limited in scale, but once the new bridge opens, hundreds of vehicles could cross it every day," Ahn Chan-il, a researcher originally from North Korea, told AFP."The bridge could become a conduit for China's abundant goods and resources to flow into North Korea and give its economy a significant boost," he added.South Korea's unification ministry told AFP that Seoul is "closely monitoring" the situation regarding the bridge's opening.North Korea has not yet resumed issuing tourism visas to Chinese citizens, who once made up the bulk of its overseas visitors.The opening of the New Yalu River Bridge comes just over a month after North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge, with Pyongyang lauding it as a sign of tightening relations.While North Korea's trade with Russia largely involves military supplies, exchanges with China could arguably involve goods that North Korea needs the most to develop its civilian economy, analysts say.
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