China, North Korea to open long-delayed bridge on Thursday
FREE Breaking News Alerts from StreetInsider.com!
StreetInsider.com Top Tickers, 10/14/2026
- Nasdaq ends down as chipmakers fall and bank earnings roll in
- Oil prices settle mixed, focus on US-Russia diesel deal, Saudi Yemen attacks
- JPMorgan shares edge lower after third-quarter FICC revenue miss
- Fed’s Waller says US bond yield rise driven by growth, not inflation
- Wells Fargo beats profit estimates despite revenue miss
Tweet
Share
E-mail
The New Yalu River Bridge designed to connect China's Dandong New Zone and North Korea's Sinuiju, as seen from Dandong, Liaoning province, China October 5, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Mandy Leong
By Liz Lee and Kyu-seok Shim
BEIJING/SEOUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The long-delayed New Yalu River Bridge linking China and North Korea will open on Thursday, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday, signalling a renewed push to boost trade despite Pyongyang's lingering wariness of greater economic dependence.
The two sides will jointly hold an opening ceremony, the Xinhua report said. North Korea's state media did not immediately report on the plan. The bridge will be the largest and most significant land crossing for trade between the two countries.
China completed its side of the bridge in 2014, hoping to boost trade ties, although North Korea left its approach roads and customs facilities unfinished as relations soured over Pyongyang's nuclear tests and the UN sanctions that followed.
The opening of the new bridge signals further progress in bilateral relations between Beijing and Pyongyang, weeks after North Korea opened its first road bridge with Russia. The North's ties with Moscow have advanced rapidly since their leaders' meeting in 2023.
China's exports to North Korea rose to a six-year high of $2.3 billion last year, a 25% increase over the previous year. That was still well below levels before UN sanctions were tightened in 2017.
China and Russia have since questioned the legitimacy of the UN Security Council resolutions that they had voted to pass and have been accused by countries such as South Korea and the US of conducting trade and exchanges in breach of the sanctions.
China is by far North Korea's largest trading partner, but the opening of the new bridge carries added significance as the isolated state expands external exchanges after the pandemic amid Pyongyang's efforts to balance relations with its two key economic and strategic partners.
North Korea and Russia opened a road bridge last month across the Tumen River, adding another transport link as Pyongyang expands economic and strategic cooperation with Moscow.
The 3-km (2-mile) dual-carriageway bridge connects the Chinese border city of Dandong with Sinuiju in North Korea and is intended to replace the ageing, single-lane Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge as the main route for road trade.
Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said further putting off the opening could have been a source of unwanted strains for both, even as Pyongyang remains cautious of greater economic dependence on China.
“There is always both wariness and cooperation in North Korea-China relations,” he said.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom, Kyu-seok Shim, Jack Kim in Seoul; Editing by Tom Hogue, Clarence Fernandez and Ed Davies)
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- South Korea's Lee names tax chief as new presidential chief of staff
- Trump says Taiwan agrees to buy 30% of LNG from Alaska pipeline project
- China's September exports blow past forecasts, imports accelerate
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
ReutersSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
