China and North Korea to open new Yalu River bridge Thursday
China finished the span in 2014. It links Dandong and Sinuiju and opens a month after the bridge Russia and North Korea inaugurated.
The New Yalu River Bridge will open Thursday, Oct. 15, at an event of the two governments, China's state news agency Xinhua announced, according to Seoul Economic Daily.
China finished the bridge in 2014, and it has never opened. It is about 3 km (1.9 miles) long, according to AP, and links Dandong, in China's Liaoning province, with Sinuiju on the North Korean side. It sits about 13 km (8 miles) southwest of the Friendship Bridge, built in 1937, which allows vehicles to cross in only one direction at a time. That older bridge handles more than 70% of official trade between the two countries, and China accounted for about 98% of North Korea's external trade last year, AP reports.
According to AP, China built its approaches and customs facilities, while North Korea made little progress on its side. Seoul Economic Daily adds that Beijing covered the full cost, about 2 200 million yuan. The opening had been expected on Oct. 6, the anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, but no event took place that day.
Neither government has explained the delay. Analysts cited by AP point to North Korea's fear of depending more on China, its anger over Beijing's support for U.N. sanctions on its nuclear program, or disagreements over the location.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called the project one of connectivity between the two countries and said, according to AP, that they are "friendly neighbors linked by rivers and mountains."
The context matters. Kim Jong Un first favored Moscow: according to AP, he sent troops and weapons for the war in Ukraine. Then he moved closer to Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Pyongyang in June. About a month ago, Russia and North Korea opened a 1 km (0.6 mile) road bridge over the Tumen River, able to handle up to 300 vehicles a day, according to Russia.
What could change for trade
Jeong Eun-i, of South Korea's Institute for National Unification, estimates the new bridge could operate with two-way traffic around the clock, including containers and heavy trucks. Kim Kyu-bum, of South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy, expects gradual growth and believes North Korean exports of food, cosmetics and alcohol could rise more than Chinese ones.
Trade between the two countries totaled $2 730 million in 2025, a third of the $6 860 million of 2014, according to Seoul Economic Daily. What remains unclear is whether the bridge will open to commercial traffic right away or only for the ceremony, and what will be able to cross under U.N. sanctions.
