China and North Korea Open New Yalu
River Bridge After 12-Year Delay

Beijing, 15 Oct 2026 (ONA) — China
and North Korea today inaugurated the new Yalu River bridge linking the
northeastern Chinese city of Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju,
following a 12-year delay, according to the China News Agency (Xinhua).

Beijing expects the new bridge,
which spans 3 kilometers and comprises four lanes, to boost economic and trade
exchanges and people-to-people ties. Observers anticipate the new bridge will
gradually enhance logistics efficiency and ease pressure on the decades-old
existing bridge, through which more than 70 percent of official trade between
the two countries passes, despite being limited to a single railway line and a
vehicle lane operating in one direction at a time.

The opening comes a month after the
inauguration of a bridge between Russia and North Korea. The bridge had been
expected to enter service in 2014 after China completed construction on its
side, but North Korea’s failure to carry out the corresponding work on its side
prevented its opening.

— Ends/Khalid