Chinese state media reports the opening of a new bridge connecting China and North Korea—a project that had faced long-standing delays.
Amidst strict international sanctions imposed due to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, China remains the country’s primary economic lifeline and its largest trading partner.
Spanning a distance of 3 kilometers from the Chinese border city of Dandong to Sinuiju in North Korea, this new ‘Yalu River Bridge’ is set to become a major land route for trade between the two nations.
Although originally scheduled to open in 2014, the project was postponed indefinitely after North Korea halted the construction of connecting roads and customs facilities, following a deterioration in relations between Beijing and Pyongyang. This new bridge will serve as an alternative to the decades-old ‘Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge,’ which was constructed between 1937 and 1943 during the period when Japan occupied this region.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that this bridge is an important facility for connectivity between the two countries. She further noted that this route would further facilitate trade and people-to-people ties between the two nations.