China and North Korea to open New Yalu River Bridge, state media reports

Key points

• China and North Korea will open the New Yalu River Bridge to traffic on Thursday, Xinhua reports.
• China finished its bridge side in 2014, but North Korea left its side unfinished for years.
• China's exports to North Korea reached a six-year high of $2.3bn last year, up 25 percent.

China and North Korea will officially open the New Yalu River Bridge to traffic on Thursday, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reports. China completed its side of the bridge in 2014, hoping to boost trade ties, but North Korea left its side unfinished for years as relations soured after Beijing supported United Nations sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear tests.

The first bridge connecting Russia and North Korea also opened earlier this month. China's exports to North Korea rose to a six-year high of $2.3bn last year, a 25 percent increase from the previous year, and Chinese President Xi Jinping was welcomed in Pyongyang in June for the first time since 2019.

Long alliance and recent strain

Since 2018, Beijing has tried to repair ties with Pyongyang, which also briefly began improving relations with Washington around the same time. The China-North Korea relationship was forged during the Korean War, and in 1961 the two countries signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which remains China's only formal military alliance.

The treaty contains a mutual defence clause committing either side to assist the other if one comes under armed attack. Although China was North Korea's main diplomatic partner and protector for decades, relations strained after Beijing in 2017 supported tightening sanctions on Pyongyang for its nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea's recent growing relationship with Russia may have changed the balance of Pyongyang's diplomatic dependence

— analysts

Russia ties and US interest

Analysts say North Korea's recent growing relationship with Russia may have changed the balance of Pyongyang's diplomatic dependence, reducing its reliance on Beijing. North Korea and Russia signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in 2024, including a mutual defence provision, and military and political ties have grown considerably stronger, with North Korea deploying thousands of troops to fight in Russia's war on Ukraine.

United States President Donald Trump also signalled an interest in repairing relations with Pyongyang last month, after his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly ended in 2019. In his second term, Trump has floated meeting Kim again, though no official meeting has been set. North Korea has not yet resumed issuing tourism visas to Chinese citizens, who once made up the bulk of its overseas visitors.