North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday via the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge, his first trip to China since September 2025. The visit, confirmed by South Korea's Unification Ministry and China's Xinhua news agency, was timed to coincide with the eve of the October 25th anniversary marking China's entry into the 1950-1953 Korean War — a date both countries observe with considerable ceremony.

Kim was received by Wang Huning, the fourth-highest-ranked official in China's Communist Party, who conveyed greetings from President Xi Jinping. The pair toured an automobile factory and visited a Korean War memorial in Dandong, where Kim paid tribute to Chinese soldiers who fought alongside North Korea. He expressed hope that Pyongyang and Beijing would "carry forward their historical friendship and expand practical cooperation" before returning home later the same day. North Korean state media did not immediately report on the visit.

The newly opened bridge — a four-lane, 3,026-metre span completed in 2014 after more than $310 million in Chinese investment but left unused for over a decade — has been seen by analysts as a key signal of intent to grow bilateral trade, including round-the-clock container and heavy-cargo traffic. The visit comes as Kim also seeks to calibrate his relationship with Beijing, having spent recent years cultivating closer ties with Russia — including sending troops to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. Analysts note that with a US-China summit expected in November, Kim's outreach to Beijing may also be intended to keep Pyongyang relevant in any potential diplomacy.