Kim Uses New Crossing to Enter China
North Korea's leader reached the Chinese city of Dandong on Saturday over a 3km span built by Beijing 12 years ago.
By Yuna Patel ·
Kim Jong-un entered China on Saturday via the New Yalu River Bridge, ending years of road access blocked by delays on the North Korean side.
South Korea's unification ministry and China's Xinhua news agency reported Kim's arrival in Dandong. He met Wang Huning, a member of the standing committee of the Chinese Communist party, and the two toured a car factory. Xinhua quoted Kim as saying North Korea "stands ready to work with China to carry forward their historical friendship and expand practical cooperation, thereby delivering tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries." Wang accompanied Kim back to the bridge for his departure.
The visit comes a day before the 25 October anniversary of China's first major victory in the Korean war, reached in October 1950 after Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River into North Korea. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported traffic controls around the bridge and near a museum on China's role in the war, along with restrictions on nearby hotel bookings; diplomatic sources told Kyodo the steps were tied to a senior North Korean official's travel.
The 3km span opened in mid-October, 12 years after China finished its half. In early September, North Korea and Russia opened the first road bridge across their shared border, giving Pyongyang road links to both Beijing and Moscow. Kim's trip is his sixth to China and his first since September 2025, when he joined a military parade in Beijing with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Xi visited Pyongyang in June, his first trip there in seven years.
Ties with South Korea have gone the other way. Since late September, Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong has issued about 8 statements criticizing Seoul, a pace South Korea's unification ministry called unusual, and she has announced plans to restart loudspeaker broadcasts at the border within days.
Xi will hold the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on 18-19 November. Reuters reported on Friday that US and South Korean officials see little chance of a Kim meeting with Donald Trump this year.
Source: The Guardian
