BEIJING — The long-delayed New Yalu River Bridge linking China and North Korea opened on October 15, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said, according to Reuters.
The two sides were to hold a joint opening ceremony, according to Reuters. China finished its side of the bridge in 2014, but North Korea left approach roads and customs facilities unfinished as relations cooled over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and U.N. sanctions, according to Reuters.
The opening signals further improvement in ties between Beijing and Pyongyang, weeks after North Korea opened its first road bridge with Russia, according to Reuters.
China’s exports to North Korea rose to a six-year high of $2.3 billion last year, up 25 percent from the previous year, according to Reuters. That remained well below levels before U.N. sanctions were imposed in 2017, according to Reuters.
The bridge connects the Chinese border city of Dandong area trade routes with North Korea across the Yalu River, a long-standing commercial corridor. No independent details on first-day traffic volumes were reported in the Reuters account.
