China and North Korea are to open a new Yalu River bridge on Thursday, TWELVE YEARS after it was built
The new bridge spanning China's border river with North Korea, set to open Thursday after sitting unused since its completion in 2014, ending a decade-long bottleneck caused by sanctions, Covid and strained relations.
The New Yalu River Bridge, a four-lane, 3km road crossing linking Dandong in China with Sinuiju in North Korea, is to officially open on Thursday with a joint ceremony — 12 years after China completed construction in 2014. North Korea left approach roads and customs facilities on its side unfinished for over a decade as relations soured following UN sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear tests. The opening points to a marked improvement in ties between Beijing and Pyongyang, coming weeks after North Korea and Russia opened a road bridge across the Tumen River — their first.
China funded the entire bridge at a cost of around 2.2 billion yuan, yet watched it sit idle for over a decade — dubbed a 'bridge to nowhere' by observers.
Analysts say hundreds of vehicles could cross daily once open, potentially doubling freight volumes and easing congestion on the creaking 1943-era Friendship Bridge.
Chinese exports to North Korea rose 25 per cent last year to $2.3 billion — and the crossing is forecast to drive trade higher still, despite UN sanctions both Beijing and Moscow now question.
