According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, a joint opening ceremony for the four-lane New Yalu River Bridge is scheduled for Thursday.
The 3,024-meter-long bridge was completed in October 2014, three years after construction began, but remained closed because North Korea had yet to complete key infrastructure on its side including access roads and other supporting facilities.
The long-delayed opening of the new bridge is expected to facilitate cross-border trade and exchanges while easing traffic congestion by supplementing the existing Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge across the Yalu or Amnok River, which has served as the main land route between the two countries since its completion in 1943.
The older bridge carries both rail and road traffic, with its single-lane roadway accommodating an estimated 150 to 200 vehicles a day.
Chinese authorities have previously estimated that the new bridge could eventually accommodate up to 20,000 vehicles and handle 50,000 passengers a day. However, given North Korea's infrastructure and operational capacity, initial traffic is expected to be about 500 vehicles a day, with annual cargo volume projected at 3 million to 6 million tons.
The opening comes amid improved bilateral ties after a rift between the two traditional allies over Pyongyang's strengthened military ties with Russia. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited Beijing in September 2025 to attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of China's Victory Day, while Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Pyongyang in a reciprocal visit in June for a summit with Kim.
Trade between North Korea and China totaled about US$1.5 billion in the first half of this year, up 19.6 percent from a year earlier. Last year's trade reached $2.7 billion, close to the level seen in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic forced North Korea to close its borders to the outside world.
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