China and North Korea Open New Yalu River Bridge After 12-Year Delay

China and North Korea formally opened the New Yalu River Bridge on 15 October, 12 years after construction finished, creating a second major road link across their border.

The 3,026-metre cable-stayed structure connects Dandong in China’s Liaoning province with Sinuiju in North Korea’s North Pyongan province. It carries four lanes and was designed to replace the ageing Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, built in 1943, which has only a single road lane plus a rail track and has long limited freight capacity.

Construction began in October 2011 after an agreement reached during then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s 2009 visit to Pyongyang. China funded the roughly 2.2 billion yuan project. Work on the Chinese side and the main span finished in 2014, but the bridge sat unused because North Korea had not completed connecting roads and customs facilities on its side. Relations cooled further over Pyongyang’s weapons programmes, delaying any opening.

Chinese state media Xinhua reported that the two sides held a joint opening ceremony on Thursday. Photographs showed trucks bearing Chinese and North Korean flags crossing in both directions. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning described the bridge as an “important facility for connectivity” that would facilitate trade and people-to-people exchanges.

The opening follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Pyongyang in June, the first such trip of the year, during which the two leaders agreed to raise relations to a strategic level. North Korea has also opened a new road bridge with Russia across the Tumen River in recent weeks, reflecting Pyongyang’s effort to balance ties with both neighbours while seeking economic relief under sanctions.

Trade between China and North Korea reached about $1.51 billion in the first half of 2026, up 19.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, and full-year 2025 trade recovered to roughly 98 percent of the 2019 pre-pandemic level. Chinese estimates suggest the new bridge can handle up to 20,000 vehicles and 50,000 passengers a day once fully operational. Sanctions continue to restrict the types of goods that can move, so the practical expansion of commerce will depend on what items are permitted and how North Korea manages its customs procedures.

South Korean analysts note that the bridge’s long idleness had become a visible symbol of strained relations. Its activation now signals a practical improvement in logistics even as North Korea continues missile tests, including submarine-launched cruise missiles reported the day before the opening. The older Friendship Bridge will remain in use for rail and some road traffic, but the new route is expected to become the primary land corridor for commercial vehicles.