New bridge opens between China, North Korea
A new four-lane road bridge linking China and North Korea finally opened on Thursday, 12 years late, enabling the Asian giant and its isolated nuclear-armed neighbor to step up cross-border trade substantially.
China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and a vital diplomatic and political backer.
Hundreds of people gathered on Thursday in the northern Chinese border town of Dandong, taking selfies in front of the 3,026-meter (9,927-feet) New Yalu River vehicle bridge before it opened.
Trucks bearing the nations’ flags began moving in both directions late morning, some of the North Korean vehicles decorated with flowers.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the bridge symbolized Beijing’s friendship with Pyongyang and that relations were “entering a new stage and opening a new chapter.”
