North Korea gets closer to China and Russia with new bridges

{"text":[[{"start":9.3,"text":"North Korea has opened two border bridges with China and Russia in recent weeks, as the isolated regime strengthens relations with its two most important patrons."}],[{"start":18.9,"text":"Trucks began rolling across the 3km New Yalu River Bridge connecting the Chinese city of Dandong with Sinuiju in North Korea on Thursday, with the crossing inaugurated by a cargo truck with North Korean flags and floral decorations and a cargo truck with five-starred Chinese flags and a red ribbon."}],[{"start":37.2,"text":"Chinese premier Li Qiang and his North Korean counterpart Pak Thae Song delivered video addresses at the opening ceremony, with Li saying the bridge would promote economic and trade co-operation and become “a new symbol of the traditional friendship” between the countries, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua."}],[{"start":56.150000000000006,"text":"An editorial on Friday in North Korea’s daily Rodong Sinmun said: “The border bridge, whose majestic presence reveals itself over the Yalu River that winds through the landscapes of both countries, is a creation embodying the invincible vitality and progress of Korea-China friendship.”"}],[{"start":71.5,"text":"Last month, North Korea opened its first road bridge to Russia, linking the Rason region with Khasan across the Tumen River. Previously, trade with Russia was conducted along a single rail track."}],[{"start":83.5,"text":"The two crossings “may have economic effects”, said Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute, but they primarily demonstrate that North Korea’s relations with China and Russia are “growing in importance”."}],[{"start":96.2,"text":"Moscow has become a crucial lifeline for Pyongyang since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Russia providing cash, fuel and payments in kind for North Korean troops and munitions to support its war effort."}],[{"start":109.9,"text":"China, meanwhile, completed construction of the new four-lane bridge in 2014 at a cost of about Rmb2.2bn ($310mn). But it remained unused, as North Korea failed to build connecting roads, customs facilities and other infrastructure. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":126.85000000000001,"text":"The incomplete project had become an “eyesore” in bilateral relations, said Ward. China accounts for about 98 per cent of North Korea’s recorded foreign trade, which totalled $2.73bn last year and was growing at a rate of about 20 per cent in the first half of 2026. "}],[{"start":145.95000000000002,"text":"For years, there was little apparent need for additional capacity, with trade squeezed first by sanctions and then the pandemic. "}],[{"start":153.00000000000003,"text":"Victor Cha, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the bridge opening was “part of the follow-through” from Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Pyongyang in June, when the two sides pledged to expand economic co-operation and cross-border links."}],[{"start":168.00000000000003,"text":"Beijing is making “an all-out effort to bring North Korea back into the fold given all of Russia’s influence and material support”, he said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":175.90000000000003,"text":"Closer co-operation between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has fuelled a construction boom in Pyongyang and boosted the country’s nascent consumer economy. But the relationship has also provoked concern in China that North Korea was straying from its orbit."}],[{"start":195.00000000000003,"text":"Lyu Chao, dean of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at China’s Liaoning University, told state media that the bridge would support North Korea’s “20x10” plan to build modern factories in 20 cities each year for the next 10 years, implying that China would be able to provide raw materials and machinery."}],[{"start":216.25000000000003,"text":"Pyongyang’s stronger ties with China and Russia have also reduced its need to engage with the US and South Korea in pursuit of sanctions relief, Ward said. "}],[{"start":226.30000000000004,"text":"US President Donald Trump has pushed to renew diplomatic efforts, speculating that he could meet Kim around the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next month in Shenzhen, China."}],[{"start":236.50000000000003,"text":"But Pyongyang has downplayed the prospects for future contacts and has demanded the US drop calls for the regime to relinquish its nuclear weapons as a precondition for talks. It has also frozen out South Korea, despite overtures from President Lee Jae Myung."}],[{"start":253.90000000000003,"text":"“The bridge is a good indicator of [China’s] growing significance for North Korea as it becomes far less interested and less in need of improving relations with either Washington or Seoul,” Ward said."}],[{"start":272.15000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1792212789_6139.mp3"}