China, North Korea open New Yalu River Bridge after more than decade-long delay, boosting trade

[SEOUL] North Korea has opened two major bridges connecting it to key trading partners in September, with the latest – a bridge link to China – inaugurated on Thursday (Oct 15) after a more than decade-long delay.

The New Yalu River Bridge connects Sinuiju to China’s Dandong, raising expectations that North Korea will seek to narrow its massive trade deficit with its longstanding economic patron.

Construction for the crossing was completed in 2014, but the bridge went unused for 12 years as North Korea put off finishing its customs and immigration infrastructure. 

In September, a car bridge connecting North Korea and Russia opened to much fanfare, drawing comparisons to its unopened bridge with China.

An opening ceremony was held on Thursday morning, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. Large flags from both countries now hang across the customs facility at the North Korean end of the four-lane bridge that stretches roughly 3 km across the Yalu River.

North Korea may have considered its massive trade deficit with China in the decision to resume work on the bridge, wrote Kim Gyu-beom, an associate research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), in a recent report.

Pyongyang could have viewed the long-stalled bridge “a sort of bargaining chip”, while its recent economic recovery gave the regime extra confidence, he added.

Trade volume between Pyongyang and Beijing dropped sharply after the United Nations ramped up sanctions on North Korea in 2017 over its banned weapons programmes following a nuclear test. Trade further cratered after North Korea sealed its borders during the pandemic.

Commerce between the two neighbours inched up in 2022 as North Korea re-opened its borders and had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by 2025.

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But even though China and North Korea’s two-way trade is on track to reach its highest level since the sanctions, the figures remain lopsided.

The bridge is expected to spur trade in goods and ease bottlenecks in cross-border freight traffic.

In the short term, Beijing, which has sought warmer ties with Pyongyang, is unlikely to immediately ramp up North Korea-bound shipments, Kim from the INSS said.

China-bound North Korean exports of food, alcohol and cosmetics are expected to pick up, he added. 

An earlier sign of closer relations between North Korea and China came when a passenger train connecting the two countries’ capitals resumed regular service after a six-year hiatus in March.

In June, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang for his first overseas trip of the year. He pledged “unwavering support” for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and vowed to expand trade and tourism between the two countries, in what analysts saw as a possible move to boost ties to counter Kim’s growing relationship with Russia. BLOOMBERG