Kim Jong Un visits China via new bridge

Kim Jong Un arrived in Dandong, China on Oct. 24, 2026, crossing the New Yalu River Bridge from Sinuiju, South Korea's Ministry of Unification and Seoul sources said. The four-lane vehicles-only bridge was completed in 2014 and opened Oct. 15, 2026 after delays in North Korean roads and customs. It is Kim's first China trip in about a year, since a September 2025 Beijing military parade with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Xi visited North Korea in June 2026. Kim has met Xi on each of five previous China visits since 2011. Neither government announced a purpose. A ruling party official said "Kim Jong-un's return home today looks almost certain," "This will be a very short visit," and "What matters is whom he meets in China, and we will have to wait and see on that." Christopher Green of Crisis Group said: "It could be that Kim is visiting President Xi Jinping to align before agreeing to meet President Trump, that would be in keeping with past precedent in 2018-2019." The stop falls a day before China marks entering the Korean War; a Tumen River road bridge to Russia opened last month as overland links expanded. APEC is next month in Shenzhen, where Trump plans to travel. Any Xi meeting and the agenda remain unconfirmed.