New Yalu River Bridge opens to traffic, China-North Korea trade relations heat up

On Thursday, North Korea and China opened the new Yalu River Bridge, the largest border crossing between the two countries. The move shows that bilateral trade is growing even as international sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea's economy and nuclear weapons program remain in place.

In recent weeks, travelers returning from the river section of the border have reported that trucks and buses have entered North Korea from China via the two-way four-lane bridge, which is about three kilometers long. The bridge connects the Chinese city of Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the banks of the Yalu River, which forms much of the border between the two countries.

The bridge opened to traffic just a month after North Korea and Russia opened their first, much smaller road bridge across the Tumen River border, Chinese state media reported. The opening of two cross-border bridges highlights Pyongyang's deepening ties with its two key allies.

According to Chinese state media, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in a video speech at the opening ceremony that the new bridge "will not only effectively promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, but also further intensify personnel exchanges between the two sides." According to reports, North Korean Prime Minister Park Tae-sung also delivered a speech via video.

As Pyongyang provides arms and military personnel to Moscow fighting its war in Ukraine, Russia has built road bridges to make up for the shortcomings of its single rail link to North Korea. As relations between North Korea and Russia continue to strengthen, China has also begun to expand trade with North Korea in an effort to maintain its economic influence on its neighboring country.

As early as 2024, Moscow joined forces with Beijing to weaken international sanctions against North Korea by disbanding the United Nations expert panel responsible for monitoring the implementation of sanctions. The two countries have also urged Washington to ease restrictions on North Korea, arguing that sanctions have failed to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons.

Analysts have warned that the new bridges could serve as trade routes for North Korea. North Korea's economy is already under heavy pressure from United Nations sanctions that ban key exports such as coal and labor and strictly control fuel imports.

Previously, Sinuiju and Dandong were mainly connected by the 83-year-old China-North Korea Friendship Bridge, which only had a monorail and a highway. The aging bridge cannot carry trucks over 20 tons and must maintain a strict speed limit of approximately 4.8 kilometers per hour. In 2009, China proposed building a new, wider Yalu River bridge as part of a broader effort to further bring North Korea within its economic reach.

The project was completed in 2014 and cost approximately US$329 million, which was fully borne by China. However, due to North Korea's time-consuming construction of connecting roads, customs inspection stations and supporting facilities, the opening to traffic was delayed by 12 years.

Pyongyang is also worried about further deepening its dependence on China. Decades of international sanctions have made North Korea dependent on China for nearly all of its foreign trade; the country's trade deficit with China has soared after the United Nations Security Council blacklisted North Korea's main exports.