North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited China to inaugurate a new bridge linking the two countries, pledging to deepen cooperation with Beijing during his first trip there in a year.
Kim crossed into the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday, as Pyongyang seeks closer alignment with China and Russia in opposition to the United States.
During the visit, he went to a memorial commemorating China’s support for North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War and met Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of China’s Communist Party.
Kim said North Korea would “firmly carry forward the invincible DPRK-China friendship forged at the cost of blood all the time”, according to the country’s official Korean Central News Agency.
Mr Wang conveyed greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping and described Kim’s visit to the memorial as “of great significance” to the continuation of ties between the two countries. The pair also toured a car factory.
Wang later accompanied Kim to the new Yalu River Bridge, where he saw the North Korean leader off. As he returned home across the crossing, Kim said it would “undoubtedly and correctly fulfil its historic mission of linking the two countries and firmly joining the minds of the peoples of the two countries”.
The visit signals an effort by Kim to strengthen relations with China, North Korea’s traditional main ally and economic lifeline, after prioritising ties with Russia in recent years. Beijing has also sought to restore its influence over Pyongyang.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, potentially in return for military and economic assistance.
Kim last visited Beijing in September 2025, when he met Xi and attended a military parade alongside Mr Putin and other foreign leaders.
