China, N. Korea hold ceremony to open new bridge 12 yrs after completion

Photo taken from Dandong in China's Liaoning Province on Oct. 15, 2026, shows vehicles heading towards the Chinese side on the New Yalu River Bridge, with North Korea's Sinuiju seen in the background. (Kyodo)

A vehicle bearing North Korean flags heads toward the Chinese side of the New Yalu River Bridge linking China and North Korea, as seen from the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong on its opening day, Oct. 15, 2026. (Kyodo)

Photo taken from the Chinese border city of Dandong shows a gate decorated with Chinese flags leading to a customs facility on the North Korean side of the New Yalu River Bridge linking China and North Korea on Oct. 14, 2026, a day before the bridge opened. (Kyodo)

Photo taken from the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong shows the New Yalu River Bridge between China and North Korea on its opening day, Oct. 15, 2026. (Kyodo)

A vehicle bearing North Korean flags travels on the New Yalu River Bridge linking China and North Korea, with a Chinese flag in the foreground, as seen from the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong on Oct. 14, 2026, a day before the bridge opened. (Kyodo)

A vehicle bearing North Korean flags heads toward the Chinese side of the New Yalu River Bridge linking China and North Korea, with buildings in North Korea's Sinuiju in the background, as seen from the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong on Oct. 14, 2026, a day before the bridge opened. (Kyodo)

DANDONG, China - China and North Korea on Thursday held a ceremony to inaugurate a new bridge linking the two countries 12 years after its completion amid a marked improvement in their ties, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The New Yalu River Bridge, which connects the border cities of Dandong in northeastern China and Sinuiju on the North Korean side, is expected to boost trade and personnel exchanges between the two Asian neighbors.

Its opening was delayed apparently by North Korea's slow preparations, with what is believed to be a customs facility on its side only recently completed.

The 3-kilometer bridge, finished in 2014, lies about 12 km downstream of the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, which was completed by Japan in 1943 during World War II and renamed in 1990.

The aging infrastructure carries a railway track and a single-lane road, while the new structure features a 28.5-meter-wide deck with four lanes for two-way traffic, Xinhua said.

In a video message to the ceremony, Chinese Premier Li Qiang described the new bridge as an "important cross-border infrastructure project" backed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the news agency said.

Li expressed hope that both sides would use the bridge's opening to improve connectivity and expand cooperation in border regions, as bilateral relations are "entering a new phase and opening a new chapter," the report said.

North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song also sent a message to the ceremony via a video link, Xinhua said.

Many local residents gathered around the new bridge on the Chinese side, with some shouting it "finally opened."

Construction of the new bridge was agreed in 2009 during a trip to Pyongyang by then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and began in 2010.

A passenger train service linking China and North Korea resumed in March this year following a six-year hiatus, while direct flights between the two countries have increased.

China is North Korea's largest trading partner and longtime economic benefactor. Ties have improved recently after apparently cooling over North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia, including its deployment of troops to support Moscow's war against Ukraine.

In September, Russia and North Korea opened their first road bridge over the Tumen River. The two countries have already provided a rail link over it.

During his June visit to Pyongyang, his first since 2019, Xi agreed with Kim to strengthen bilateral strategic coordination.

China's trade with North Korea rose 25 percent in 2025 to about $2.74 billion, returning to pre-pandemic levels but remaining at roughly half the level recorded before the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution in 2017 over Pyongyang's ballistic missile program, official data showed.

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