Trade boost possible as North Korean leader Kim Jong visits China to inaugurate cross border bridge

Bridge marks closer ties

Kim arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong after crossing the newly opened bridge, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry and China’s Xinhua News Agency. The bridge links the two countries across the Yalu River.

Experts described the New Yalu River Bridge, opened this month, as a symbol of closer relations and plans to expand trade. It is expected to accommodate two-way traffic around the clock, including container shipments and heavy cargo trucks.

Kim meets Chinese official

Kim met Wang Huning, a member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Standing Committee. They toured a car factory and pledged to strengthen bilateral relations. Xinhua reported Kim said North Korea was ready to advance the countries’ historic friendship and broaden practical cooperation for the benefit of their people. Wang later accompanied Kim to the bridge to see him off. North Korean state media had not immediately reported the visit.

A shift in diplomatic focus

The visit is Kim’s first to China in a year and his sixth since he took power in late 2011. He has recently sought closer ties with Beijing after putting greater emphasis on relations with Russia.

North Korea sent thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for military and economic assistance. Kim’s China visit appears timed ahead of the Oct. 25 anniversary of China’s first major Korean War victory.

War history and current tensions

Kim also said the trip was intended to honor those killed in the Korean War, Xinhua reported. The conflict began with North Korea’s attack on South Korea in June 1950; fighting ended with a 1953 armistice, leaving the peninsula technically at war.

Kim has maintained a hard line toward Seoul and rejected a proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump to restart diplomacy, which collapsed in 2019. Pyongyang has called on Washington to end what it terms a hostile policy and drop denuclearization demands as a condition for talks.

Regional diplomacy remains uncertain

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang in June and discussed expanding cooperation in trade, agriculture, construction and technology. Kim called ties with China a top strategic priority. Kim last visited Beijing in September 2025, meeting Xi and watching a military parade with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders.

South Korea’s government has urged China to play a constructive role and hopes renewed U.S.-North Korean talks could improve relations between the Koreas. Seoul’s spy agency told lawmakers last month it saw a 50% possibility of a Trump-Kim meeting at next month’s APEC summit in Shenzhen.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said a North Korean focus on economic development rather than military threats would benefit diplomacy and security. He also said it was unclear what Seoul could offer if Kim gained greater benefits from China and Russia.