China-North Korea ties deepen as new bridge opens after 12-year delay

A new bridge linking China and North Korea opened Thursday after more than a decade of delay signalling deeper ties between the two countriesChinas official Xinhua News Agency reported that a ceremony for the launch of the New Yalu River Bridge was held and an on online video from state media outlet China News Service showed the bridge and trucks waiting on it adorned with the national flags of China and North KoreaBeijing expected that the fourlane 3kilometre 18mile crossing which connects the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju would further promote economic trade and peopletopeople exchangesThe relations between China and North Korea have entered a new stage embarking on a new chapter Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in a video address at the ceremony Xinhua reportedLi said that the crossing would become a new landmark symbolising the two nations traditional friendship He hoped both sides would seize the opportunity of the opening to continue to enhance connectivity and explore potential for cooperation in border areas Xinhua saidBridge opens after a 12year delayThe bridge initially was expected to enter use in 2014 when China had apparently completed construction on its sideBut North Korea had not done corresponding work on its side at the timeThe absence of substantial work in Sinuiju fuelled speculation that Pyongyang was wary of becoming more economically dependent on China or displeased with Beijing voting for United Nations resolutions toughening international sanctions on the North over its nuclear program Some observers suggested North Korea and China also differed over the bridges locationThe setback over the bridge prompted an unusually sharp report in the Global Times a newspaper affiliated with the ruling Chinese Communist Party which quoted Dandong residents expressing frustration over delays in what they had hoped would be an economic boon for their border cityNew link opens a month after launch of RussiaNorth Korea bridgeObservers said the new bridge would likely boost bilateral trade and enhance logistical efficiencyIt is expected to lessen the burden on an aging bridge on the DandongSinuiju route which handles more than 70 per cent of official trade between the two countriesThat decadesold bridge carries a railway line as well as cars and trucks but vehicle traffic can move only one way at a timeThe new bridge could facilitate trade that violates UN sanctions but traffic across it could be more transparent and subject to customs than crossborder smuggling said LeifEric Easley a professor at Ewha University in SeoulThe new bridges launch came about a month after North Korea and Russia opened a road bridge as part of their efforts to cement relationsExperts say Chinese officials likely felt uneasy about that openingChina has long been North Koreas biggest trading partner and economic pipeline But in recent years North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has prioritised Moscow sending thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine apparently in exchange for military and economic assistanceKim has recently drawn closer to China with the apparent intent to improve his countrys economy and build a front against the United States China for its part wants to restore its unique influence over North KoreaAbout 98 per cent of North Koreas external trade was with China in 2025 The South Korean government said last year there were at least 17 active road and rail links across the porous North KoreaChina border which stretches more than 1400 kilometres 870 milesChina remains economically indispensable to North Korea in ways that Russia cannot replace and the bridge may offer an inadvertent window into bilateral relations if flows are visibly interrupted in the future Easley saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever