Kim Jong Un makes a one-day trip to Dandong over the new Yalu bridge
· BehindLines newsroom
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spent Saturday, 24 October, in the Chinese border city of Dandong on an unannounced visit that lasted a single day. According to CNN, he travelled over the new bridge across the Yalu River, which links Dandong with the North Korean city of Sinuiju and had only just been brought into service. North Korea's official KCNA agency reported on the trip the following day, the Korea Times noted.
Kim did not see President Xi Jinping. His host was Wang Huning, who chairs the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and ranks fourth in the Communist Party hierarchy. In the KCNA account cited by the Korean daily, Wang passed on Xi's greetings and held a banquet on his behalf. Kim said he was determined to expand cooperation between the two countries, visited a memorial to the Korean War where he laid a flower basket, and toured a local factory. His sister Kim Yo Jong and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui travelled with him.
The timing carries weight. October 25 is the anniversary of the day Chinese troops entered the 1950-1953 Korean War on the North's side; Beijing calls the conflict the "War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea". CBS News said it was his first stay in China in roughly a year, following his presence in Beijing in September 2025.
The bridge also sends an economic signal. About 3 kilometres long with four lanes, it opened this month after more than a decade of waiting, the Kyunghyang Shinmun recalled, quoting Kim as saying the structure would bind the two nations firmly together. China is by far North Korea's largest trading partner, and Dandong handles a large share of that trade.
What it changes: for Pyongyang, the trip showcases warming ties with Beijing and paves the way for more road trade, within the limits set by United Nations sanctions. Analysts quoted in the South Korean press also see it as a way of quashing unfounded rumours about Kim's health that had spread online. For Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, it is a reminder that China remains the North's main backer. No specific agreement was announced at the end of the day.