The inauguration ceremony for a new bridge spanning the Yalu River connecting China and North Korea took place on Thursday, marking a step forward in bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries. According to the Xinhua News Agency, the bridge, named the New Yalu River Bridge, links the city of Dandong in northeastern China with the North Korean border city of Sinuiju.
Footage from state media showed trucks decorated with the national flags of both countries lined up on the four-lane bridge, which was adorned with Chinese and North Korean flags. Speaking via video, Chinese Premier Li Qiang called the bridge a "new symbol" of the "traditional friendship" between the two countries, and urged both sides to use the inauguration as an opportunity to strengthen connectivity and explore new cooperation in the border region. North Korean Premier Pak Thae Song also delivered a message by video.
The 3-kilometer road bridge is expected to ease pressure on the deteriorating China-North Korea Friendship Bridge, a decades-old structure on the same route that carries both rail and vehicle traffic but can only accommodate one-way traffic at a time.
According to Chinese figures, more than 70% of official trade between the two countries currently passes through this crossing. The South Korean government estimates that at least 17 road and rail routes are in operation along the 1,400-kilometer border between North Korea and China. The opening of the new bridge comes as Pyongyang seeks to strengthen ties with both Beijing and Moscow to reduce its economic isolation.
