Kim Jong-un has visited China, inaugurating a bridge that connects the two countries and saying he hopes to expand cooperation with his neighbour.
The North Korean leader arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday after crossing the New Yalu River Bridge, according to South Korea’s unification ministry, which handles affairs related to North Korea, and China’s official Xinhua news agency.
He met Wang Huning, a member of the standing committee of China’s Communist party. The pair toured a car factory, and promised to strengthen the bilateral relationship.
Kim said his country “stands ready to work with China to carry forward their historical friendship and expand practical cooperation, thereby delivering tangible benefits to the peoples of both countries”, according to Xinhua.
Wang then accompanied Kim to the bridge to send him off, Xinhua said.
The visit appears to be timed to underscore the strength of Kim’s ties with Beijing ahead of the ۲۵ October anniversary of China’s first major victory in the Korean war, which came days after Chinese troops crossed the Yalu River into North Korea in October ۱۹۵۰.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency said on Saturday that traffic controls had been imposed around the bridge and near a museum about China’s role in the war, and that hotel bookings nearby had been restricted.
Diplomatic sources told the agency the measures were linked to a visit by a senior North Korean official.
The ۳km bridge opened in mid-October, ۱۲ years after China finished building it, after being held up by delays on the North Korean side. In early September, North Korea and Russia opened the first road bridge across their own short border, leaving Pyongyang newly linked by road to its main backers.
The trip is Kim’s sixth visit to China and his first since September ۲۰۲۵, when he attended a military parade in Beijing alongside the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin. Xi visited Pyongyang in June, his first trip there in seven years.
Relations with South Korea, meanwhile, have deteriorated. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, has issued about ۱۰ statements criticising Seoul since late September, a frequency South Korea’s unification ministry has called unusual, and has also announced plans to resume loudspeaker broadcasts at the border within days.
Xi will host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on ۱۸-۱۹ November, which has fuelled speculation about a meeting between Kim and Donald Trump.
Reuters reported on Friday, however, that US and South Korean officials see little chance of Kim meeting the US president this year.
Associated Press contributed to this report
