North Korea: Kim Jong Un visits China – relations are apparently improving

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un rarely leaves his country - now, according to South Korean information, he has unexpectedly arrived in the Chinese border town of Dandong. Kim is said to have entered the country via a border bridge that was inaugurated last week and met Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing an anonymous government source in Seoul. Chinese or North Korean authorities did not initially confirm the visit.

Kim's trip to China falls almost exactly on the anniversary of China's entry into the Korean War on October 25, 1950, which China calls the "War to Resist the United States and Help Korea." It has not yet been confirmed whether Kim will take part in the memorial celebrations. It is also not known whether China's head of state Xi Jinping will take part in the event. In the Korean War (1950–53), Chinese troops fought alongside North Korea against South Korea and US-led UN troops.

The day before, there had already been indications of an impending visit by high-ranking North Korean representatives to Dandong. Security measures have reportedly been stepped up in the city on the border with North Korea.

China is the country's most important trading partner, which is subject to UN sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. Recently, the two countries continued to advance their partnership. North Korea's ruler Kim visited Beijing in September 2025 on one of his rare trips abroad. In June of this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping again traveled to North Korea on a state visit.

In mid-October, the approximately three-kilometer-long, four-lane road bridge over the border river Yalu, which connects Dandong in China with the North Korean city of Sinuiju, was opened. It was intended to facilitate trade between the two countries, but was only opened twelve years after its completion.