North Korea’s Kim Jong Un arrives in China, South Korean media says

What the report says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly entered China, with South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency saying he arrived in the border city of Dandong on Saturday via the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge. Al Jazeera, citing Yonhap and a South Korean government source, said the crossing happened about a week after the bridge was formally opened.

The report places the visit in the context of long-running but sometimes strained ties between Beijing and Pyongyang. China remains North Korea’s biggest trading partner and a key source of diplomatic and economic backing, making border infrastructure and high-level exchanges important signals for both countries. The bridge itself had been finished years earlier, but its opening was delayed until roads and customs facilities on the North Korean side were ready.

Al Jazeera noted that Kim’s last confirmed trip to China was in September 2025, when he attended Victory Day events in Beijing and met Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi also visited North Korea in June, which the report described as part of improving relations. The new crossing could matter for trade and travel, although the article also points to broader expert skepticism in the region about how much a bridge alone can change commercial flows.