North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited China on Saturday, inaugurating a new bridge linking the two countries and pledging to expand cooperation with his powerful neighbor.
Kim’s visit to China, his first in a year, is his latest move in an increasingly assertive foreign policy as he seeks to align Pyongyang with Beijing and Moscow in a united front against the United States in what he describes as a “new Cold War.”
Kim arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday after crossing the newly opened bridge, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry and China’s official Xinhua news agency.
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In Dandong, Kim visited a memorial marking China’s support for North Korea during the Korean War (1950-1953) and met Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China.
At the memorial, Kim said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) would “firmly pursue the invincible friendship between the DPRK and China forged at the price of blood at all times,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
During their meeting, Kim reaffirmed his determination to develop bilateral cooperation, while Wang conveyed greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping and said Kim’s visit to the memorial was “of great significance” to advancing the friendship between the two countries, KCNA said.
The two also visited an automobile factory, before Wang accompanied Kim to the bridge to deport him, according to KCNA and Xinhua.
Returning home via the bridge, Kim said “the bridge will undoubtedly and correctly fulfill its historic mission of connecting the two countries and firmly connecting the minds of the people of the two countries,” KCNA reported.
Kim has recently taken steps to strengthen ties with China, the North’s main traditional ally and economic lifeline, after years of prioritizing relations with Russia. China, for its part, seeks to restore its unique influence over North Korea.
North Korea has sent thousands of troops and conventional weapons to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for military and economic assistance.
Kim last visited Beijing in September 2025, when he met with Xi and attended a military parade alongside Putin and other foreign leaders.
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