China-North Korea bridge to open on October 15

BEIJING, Oct 14 (Reuters) – The long-delayed New Yalu River Bridge linking China and North Korea will be opened on October 15, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.

The two sides will jointly hold an opening ceremony, the report said.

China completed its side of the bridge in 2014, hoping to boost trade ties, although North Korea left its approach roads and customs facilities unfinished as relations soured over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and the U.N. sanctions that followed.

The opening of the new bridge signals further progress in bilateral relations between Beijing and Pyongyang, weeks after North Korea opened its first road bridge with Russia.

China’s exports to North Korea rose to a six-year high of $2.3 billion last year, a 25% increase over the previous year. That was still well short of levels from before the UN sanctions were imposed in 2017.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Tom Hogue)