China and North Korea opened a new four-lane highway bridge on October 15, ending a 12-year delay and creating a key route for border trade.
The four-lane, 3026-meter-long New Yalu River Bridge connects the Chinese border city of Dandong with Sinuiju in North Korea. Hundreds of people gathered in Dandong on Thursday to watch as trucks began moving in both directions, some adorned with Chinese and North Korean flags and flowers.
Completed in 2014, the bridge remained unused for 12 years, as connecting roads and customs facilities on the North Korean side were never completed. Its official opening marked a major step in efforts to revive trade between the two countries after years of strained relations and border restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
The new crossing is expected to facilitate cargo transportation and reduce dependence on the aging neighboring China–Korea Friendship Bridge, which has handled the bulk of border traffic since 1943. North Korea specialist Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University estimates that the new crossing could triple or quadruple cargo volumes, particularly for heavy equipment and construction materials.
