The New Yalu River Bridge connecting Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, North Korea, and Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, will officially open on the 15th, reported the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 14th. This opening comes 12 years after its completion, and it is expected to serve as a milestone in improving North Korea-China relations.

Xinhua News Agency stated, “Following consultations between China and North Korea, the newly constructed New Yalu River Bridge will officially open on the 15th,” adding that “a joint opening ceremony is scheduled to be held on the same day.”

The New Yalu River Bridge, a four-lane round-trip bridge with a total length of 3,026 meters, was completed in 2014 with China funding the entire construction cost. However, traffic has been delayed due to reasons such as North Korea's lack of connecting roads and customs facilities. Analyses suggested that North Korea was passive about the opening due to concerns over deepening its economic dependence on China and as a form of protest against China for participating in United Nations sanctions against North Korea.

As North Korea secured full-scale support from Russia through troop deployments to the war in Ukraine, signs of improvement in North Korea-China relations have also begun to emerge. In September of last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of China's Victory Day, during which the two countries reaffirmed their strategic cooperative relations. Regular passenger train and airline routes between North Korea and China have been restored earlier this year.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a return visit to Pyongyang in June, where he and leader Kim agreed on “expanding practical cooperation in economic trade, agriculture, architecture, science and technology, and medical health,” which accelerated North Korea's preparations for the opening. Initially, there were expectations that it would open on the 6th, which marked the anniversary of the 77th anniversary of diplomatic relations between North Korea and China, but the opening ceremony was not held on that day.

High-ranking officials from North Korea and China are expected to attend this opening ceremony. At the completion ceremony for the Tumen River automobile bridge between North Korea and Russia held on September 7th, North Korean Cabinet Premier Pak Tae-song and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin participated via video link from Pyongyang and Moscow, respectively.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]