Kim Jon-un visits China to open new bridge, reaffirm ties

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited China on Saturday, inaugurating a new bridge that connects the two countries and vowing to expand cooperation with his powerful neighbor.

Kim's visit to China, the 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 under what he portrays as a "new Cold War."

Kim arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong Saturday after crossing the newly opened bridge, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry and China's official Xinhua News Agency.

In Dandong, Kim visited a memorial marking China's support of North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War and met with Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of China's Communist Party.

At the memorial, Kim said that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will "firmly carry forward the invincible DPRK-China friendship forged at the cost of blood all the time," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. 

During their meeting, Kim reaffirmed a resolve to develop bilateral cooperation, while Wang conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's greetings and said Kim's visit to the memorial was "of great significance" in carrying forward the friendship between the two countries, KCNA said.

The two toured a car factory as well, before Wang accompanied Kim to the bridge to send him off, according to KCNA and Xinhua.

While returning home via the bridge, Kim said "the bridge would undoubtedly and correctly fulfill its historic mission of linking the two countries and firmly joining the minds of the peoples of the two countries," KCNA reported.

Kim has recently taken steps to bolster ties with China, the North's traditional main ally and economic lifeline, after years of prioritizing ties with Russia. China, for its part, has sought 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 watched a military parade alongside Putin and other foreign leaders.