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 2026, twelve years after the main structure was completed.

Trucks decorated with the flags of both countries crossed the 3-kilometre, four-lane cable-stayed bridge linking the Chinese city of Dandong with Sinuiju on the North Korean side. Chinese Premier Li Qiang and North Korean Premier Pak Thae-song delivered video addresses at the ceremony. Li said bilateral relations are entering a new phase and that the bridge would promote economic and people-to-people exchanges.

Construction on the Chinese side finished in 2014. North Korea left its approach roads and customs facilities unfinished for years. Recent satellite imagery showed paving and preparation work on the North Korean side in early October. An informed source told NK News the bridge is intended for cargo; passenger traffic will continue on the older Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, completed in 1943 and limited to a single lane plus a railway track.

The older bridge, about 10 kilometres upstream, has been the principal land crossing. It has a 20-ton weight limit and one-way traffic. The new structure removes that bottleneck. China's exports to North Korea rose 25 percent last year to $2.3 billion. Analysts caution that a full return to pre-sanctions volumes is unlikely in the near term because of UN restrictions and North Korea's own policy choices.

The opening follows two leader-level meetings between Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un in the past year. It also comes one day after North Korea test-fired cruise missiles from a submarine, according to its state media. China remains Pyongyang's largest trading partner and a key diplomatic supporter, although relations have fluctuated with nuclear tests and sanctions.

Dandong's economy has long depended on cross-border trade. The long delay in opening the new bridge constrained local growth. Crowds gathered on the Chinese bank to watch the first trucks pass. North Korean state media had not yet reported the event by the afternoon of 15 October.

The bridge is the latest piece of infrastructure connecting North Korea to its neighbours. A road bridge with Russia opened earlier this month. Together the projects increase physical capacity for trade even while political and sanctions constraints remain in place.

Whether traffic volumes rise quickly will depend on customs procedures, North Korean demand for Chinese goods, and the continued application of international sanctions. For the moment the physical link that sat unused for more than a decade is open.