SEOUL, October 24 (AJP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited China on Saturday, arriving in the border city of Dandong via a newly opened bridge in his first trip there in more than a year.
South Korea's Ministry of Unification said Kim entered Dandong in China's northeastern Liaoning Province through the New Yalu River Bridge earlier in the day.
The bridge connects Dandong with the North Korean border city of Sinuiju across the Yalu River, known as the Amnok River in Korea.
Neither North Korea nor China had announced Kim's itinerary or the purpose of the visit as of Saturday afternoon.
It was also not immediately clear whether Kim would travel beyond Dandong or meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The visit comes a day before the 76th anniversary of China's entry into the 1950-53 Korean War, when Beijing sent the Chinese People's Volunteers to fight alongside North Korean forces.
Kim last visited China in September 2025, when he attended a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and held talks with Xi.
Xi made a state visit to Pyongyang in June this year, his first trip to North Korea in seven years.
The two leaders agreed during the June summit to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic level and expand exchanges in areas including trade, agriculture, construction and technology.
Kim's latest trip comes just nine days after North Korea and China formally opened the New Yalu River Bridge on Oct. 15, ending a delay of more than a decade.
The four-lane bridge was completed in 2014 but remained unused for 12 years as connecting roads, customs facilities and other infrastructure on the North Korean side remained unfinished.
The Unification Ministry described the bridge's opening last week as the first tangible implementation of agreements reached at the June summit, saying it would closely watch whether the move leads to further steps to deepen strategic ties.
Relations between Pyongyang and Beijing have strengthened since Kim's September 2025 trip after a period of relative strain as North Korea rapidly expanded military cooperation with Russia.
High-level exchanges have accelerated this year, including Xi's June visit to Pyongyang and reciprocal visits by senior officials marking the 65th anniversary of the China-North Korea Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.
Xi reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to strengthening relations with Pyongyang in a message released earlier this week, saying the two countries had long supported each other.
Kim's visit also comes days after unsubstantiated rumors about his death circulated on overseas social media.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service told lawmakers Friday that the claims were false, while North Korean state media reported Saturday that Kim had presided over a two-day meeting of military commanders in Pyongyang on Thursday and Friday.
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