China and North Korea open New Yalu River Bridge after it sat UNUSED for 12 years
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.A social-media post celebrating the Yalu River bridge opening, as the four-lane crossing replaces a single-lane 1943 structure that still carries over 70% of China-North Korea bilateral trade.
China and North Korea have inaugurated the New Yalu River Bridge linking Dandong and Sinuiju, holding a joint opening ceremony on Thursday after the four-lane, 3-kilometre crossing sat idle since its completion in 2014. Beijing funded the entire £329 million project, though North Korea left its connecting roads and customs facilities incomplete for years during a period of strained relations stemming from UN sanctions on Pyongyang's nuclear programme. The opening follows a gradual warming of ties, with Xi Jinping visiting Pyongyang in June and passenger rail services between the two countries resuming in March.
The bridge is the first new crossing over the Yalu River since 1943, and analysts expect it to allow hundreds of vehicles to cross daily where previously traffic was severely restricted.
The opening comes just a month after North Korea and Russia unveiled their inaugural Tumen River road bridge, as Pyongyang moves to expand overland trade links with both Beijing and Moscow simultaneously.
Chinese exports to North Korea rose 25% last year to $2.3 billion, their highest level in six years, though international sanctions are expected to limit how far the new route can boost trade.
