Kim Jong Un crosses new bridge into China as trade ties warm

Kim Jong Un has visited Chinese border city Dandong via the newly opened Yalu River bridge.

Beijing and Pyongyang have agreed to expand trade and personnel exchanges after a major logistics bottleneck after years of delays.

China remains North Korea's main economic and diplomatic backer and accounts for most of its official trade.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited the Chinese border city of Dandong, crossing a newly opened bridge in a symbolic move seen as highlighting Beijing and Pyongyang's push to expand trade ties.

During his visit, Mr Kim was accompanied by China's fourth-highest-ranked official Wang Huning, who conveyed greetings from President Xi Jinping, its official Xinhua news agency said.

Mr Kim arrived in Dandong via the New Yalu River Bridge connecting North Korea and China, a South Korean government official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

The new bridge is expected to help move heavy equipment, raw materials and energy products that North Korea needs for development.

Its official opening this month is the latest sign of warming ties between Beijing and Pyongyang, after two summits between their leaders in the past 13 months.

China, which fought alongside North Korea in the 1950–53 Korean War, remains Pyongyang's main economic and diplomatic backer and accounts for most of its official trade.

But North Korea's deepening military ties with Russia since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine have led analysts to question whether Pyongyang is becoming less reliant on Beijing.

Mr Kim's trip nevertheless points to a renewed push by China and North Korea to bolster their economic relationship.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency had earlier reported that Mr Kim was expected to return to North Korea after Saturday's visit.

Footage from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed Mr Kim walking on the bridge, lined by people waving flags, towards North Korea.

Mr Wang accompanied Mr Kim to a Korean War memorial in Dandong, where the North Korean leader paid tribute to Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers who fought alongside North Korea during the three-year conflict, Xinhua reported.

Mr Kim also toured a Dandong automobile factory, it said.

The countries opened the three-kilometre New Yalu River Bridge, their most significant land border crossing, this month after a long delay, aiming to rejuvenate trade and commerce after years of strained ties and ‌pandemic-related disruptions.

"Kim has given his imprimatur to bilateral trade by crossing the New Yalu River Bridge to enter China," said Christopher Green, a Korea specialist at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

The delayed opening had shown how dysfunctional the relationship had become, he added.

During a meeting on Saturday, Mr Wang told Mr Kim that China was ready to use the bridge's opening to expand personnel exchanges and economic and trade cooperation, Xinhua said.

A visit by Mr Kim now is consistent with the current phase of closer economic ties and more frequent high-level exchanges between China and North Korea, said Lu Chao, an expert in China-North Korea relations at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, a Chinese government think-tank in Shenyang.

"With the logistics constraint eased, bilateral trade is likely to increase further."

Mr Kim's last known visit to China was in September 2025, to attend the 80th Victory Day celebrations in Beijing, when he held a summit with Xi Jinping.

Mr Xi made a state visit to North Korea in June.

US President Donald Trump has been eager to jump-start talks with North Korea, but US and South Korean officials see fading chances of him meeting Mr Kim this year, Reuters reported on Friday.

China hosts a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next month in Shenzhen, which Mr Trump is expected to attend.