Trucks line up as long-delayed China-North Korea bridge officially opens

DANDONG, China — China and North Korea officially marked the long-delayed opening of their most significant land border crossing on Thursday, aiming to rejuvenate trade and commerce after years of soured ties and pandemic-related disruptions to cross-border exchange.

The area around the New Yalu River Bridge saw increased activity over the past few days, with trucks adorned with Chinese flags waiting on the bridge ahead of a crossing on Thursday.

Crowds also gathered on the Chinese side along a road overlooking the bridge.

Chinese and North Korean flags also lined the cable-stayed bridge with towering pylons that had been completed in 2014 but remained unused, while approach roads and a customs compound on the North Korea end remained unfinished.

On Thursday, the countries held an opening ceremony for the new bridge, according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. North Korea’s state media have yet to report on the scheduled event.

The opening signals progress in bilateral relations between Beijing and Pyongyang, marked by two summit meetings between their leaders in the past year.

China is by far Pyongyang’s largest trading partner, even after a series of U.N. sanctions banned the flow of goods and workers to and from North Korea…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/world