Finally, the "ghost bridge" opens - China and North Korea strengthen ties
After over a decade of delays, the new bridge over the Yalu River between Dandong and Sinuiju has opened to traffic.
Quick Look
- After ten years of delay, the new bridge over the Yalu River between China and North Korea has been opened to truck traffic.
- The bridge, which has long been called the ghost bridge, marks a closer cooperation after a cooler period between the countries.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The bridge was completed in 2014 but has been unused due to political tensions and the pandemic.
Already in 2014, the bridge between the Chinese city of Dandong and North Korean Sinuiju was ready. But on the North Korean side there were no connecting roads or customs houses. The "Ghost Bridge" was nicknamed because of the long delay.
One explanation is believed to be that the relationship between the countries became more frosty after China backed toughened, already extensive, UN sanctions against North Korea in 2017. The reason is North Korea's nuclear weapons program, which China has sharply criticized.
But on Thursday, the first trucks, decorated with North Korean and Chinese flags, rolled onto the four-lane three-kilometer bridge that spans the Yalu River.
"A new chapter has been written in the relationship between China and North Korea," Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in a video message in which he also expressed his hope for increased trade and more people-to-people exchanges.
After a cooler period, the ties between the countries seem to be strengthening. Their relationship goes way back. "Like lips to teeth", Mao Zedong described the close relationship.
Above all, isolated North Korea is dependent on China, which accounts for over 90 percent of its foreign trade. At the same time, the new bridge is also long-awaited in Dandong. Trade with North Korea and Chinese tourist groups traveling there via Dandong was an important source of income that died during the pandemic when North Korea closed its borders.
When DN visited Dandong in 2025, the residents were also worried that China was about to lose control over its "little brother" to Russia, with which North Korea has cultivated an increasingly close relationship. North Korea is sending weapons and soldiers to support Russia's war of invasion in Ukraine. In exchange you get oil, cash and military knowledge. Only a month ago, the first road bridge between Russia and North Korea opened, over the Tumen River.
But the new Yalu Bridge, between China and North Korea, is clearly larger and has the capacity for heavier traffic. However, no immediate explosion in trade is expected. North Korea does not want to become too dependent on China.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Trade over the new Yalu Bridge will increase gradually without an immediate explosion.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- How fast will trading volumes increase?
- How does Russia's growing influence affect China's relationship with North Korea?
