Kim Jong Un Opens New Bridge to China and Pledges Closer Ties on First Visit in a Year

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to China on Saturday, opening a new bridge linking the two countries and promising to broaden cooperation with his larger neighbor. It was his first trip to China in a year.

According to South Korea's Unification Ministry and China's official Xinhua News Agency, Kim arrived in the border city of Dandong after crossing the newly opened span. The trip comes as he pursues an increasingly assertive foreign policy, seeking to align Pyongyang with Beijing and Moscow in a united front against the United States. Kim describes the current climate as a "new Cold War."

While in Dandong, Kim visited a memorial commemorating China's support for North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War. He also met Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of China's Communist Party.

At the memorial, Kim said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would "firmly carry forward the invincible DPRK-China friendship forged at the cost of blood all the time," North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency reported.

During the meeting, Kim reaffirmed his determination to develop bilateral cooperation, KCNA said. Wang passed along greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping and called Kim's visit to the memorial "of great significance" for carrying forward the friendship between the two nations.

The two men also toured a car factory. Wang then accompanied Kim to the bridge to see him off, according to KCNA and Xinhua. On the way home across the span, Kim said it would "undoubtedly and correctly fulfill its historic mission of linking the two countries and firmly joining the minds of the peoples of the two countries," KCNA reported.

Kim has recently moved to strengthen relations with China, the North's traditional main ally and economic lifeline, after years in which he gave priority to ties with Russia. China, for its part, has been working to restore its unique influence over North Korea.

North Korea has dispatched thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for military and economic assistance.

Kim's previous visit to China was in September 2025, when he traveled to Beijing, met Xi and watched a military parade alongside Putin and other foreign leaders.