Commercial satellite imagery of the three kilometer New Yalu River suspension bridge connecting the Chinese city of Dandong with North Korea’s Sinuiju across the Yalu River shows that work has resumed, at least on the Chinese side of the bridge, according to a recent report from 38 North. The USD 350 million project began about 12 years ago and has yet to open to traffic.
The Chinese side of the bridge has always been better developed than the DPRK’s. In 2016, a new customs hall and exhibition area were built there, and the ground was cleared for a vehicle handling area. Late last year, paving of previously unpaved areas of the site began, and two obvious customs and immigration checkpoints, respectively, were constructed on the road coming from North Korea. The two new checkpoints and several additional buildings appeared to be almost completed by October 2022. To date, construction continues on a smaller building about 100 meters in front of the larger checkpoint.
Though customs and exhibition facilities are already set up on the Dandong side of the new bridge, they have not yet been completed on the North Korean side. Preparatory work in Sinuiju, spotted by 38 North in 2020, was halted later that year when the COVID-19 pandemic became a global problem.
The resumption of work on the Chinese side of the bridge may indicate that the two countries are interested in normalizing trade relations. However, as long as the border crossing is not open, any cargo must be transported across the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, one of the few ways to enter or leave North Korea. The problem is that the bridge consists of only a single-lane road and a railroad track, and also cannot carry trucks over 20 tons.
While the flurry of Chinese construction activity suggests that the respective authorities are still expecting the bridge to be eventually opened, an opening seems unlikely until complementary facilities on the North Korean side are completed.
Indefinite construction process
According to 38 North, planning for the new border crossing likely began in 2010 during a visit to North Korea by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, when China-DPRK relations were at their peak. The Chinese government was reportedly interested in promoting economic development in its northeastern provinces, but this required better access to DPRK ports, natural resources, and consumers.
At the same time, North Korea expressed a desire to expand economic cooperation with China, which culminated in the “Ten-Year Strategic Plan for Economic Development” in 2011, which includes investment in natural resource development programs and the construction of 3,000 km of new highways.
Construction of the New Yalu River Bridge subsequently began in the second half of 2011, at which time preparatory work began on the installation of caissons to serve as foundations for the two bridge towers. In 2013, the road bridge was completed, as were the roads leading to and from the bridge the following year.
Between 2014 and 2019, however, construction stalled, likely due to DPRK money problems, as the regime reportedly “asked Beijing to cover a larger portion of the border bridge’s construction costs.” Until it was finally connected to the North Korean road network in mid-2020, the North Korean side of the bridge led into an empty field, earning it the nickname “Bridge to Nowhere.” Only then did the clearing of half a square kilometer of land north of the new road begin. The planned use of the land remains unclear, but its location near the bridge’s jetty suggests it will become a customs and immigration area.
While the DPRK and China resume trade, the bridge remains unfinished
In January 2020, North Korea closed its borders and imposed nationwide lockdowns and restrictions as part of COVID-19 containment measures to prevent a domestic outbreak of the virus. However, work at the Sinuiju bridge site was not halted until late 2020.
In October 2021, Yonhap news agency reported that the bridge ramps on the North Korean side had now been completed and that the bridge would open soon, as North Korea planned to resume border trade. Despite an increase in trade in 2022 and rumors of further easing of border restrictions in the near future, there are no signs yet that construction will resume on the North Korean side.
Edited by Robert Lauler.
