Despite danger, traffic temporarily resumes on Sino-NK bridge

The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge,
connecting China’s Dandong and North Korea’s Sinuiju, has been shut down after
damage sustained over a protracted period of time caused a truck to flip over. However, with
only a number of days left until the Korean Workers’ Party foundation celebration, traffic was
temporarily resumed on September 30th, Daily NK has learned. 

“Today (September 30th) they resumed
traffic just for one day so that North Korean traders can bring in supplies for
the event after a truck crashed because of the damage on Monday,” a source from
North Pyongan Province told Daily NK.
 

An additional source in the same province
corroborated this news.
 


A cargo truck overturned onto the train tracks of the decrepit Sino-Korea Friendship
 Bridge on September 28. Image: 騰訊大遼網

Officials have banned entry from October 1
to 4 so that they can restore the bridge, but facing urgent preparation for the
Party’s 70th Foundation Day festivities, they put down steel plates as a temporary
fix to get truck loads of supplies through, the source explained.


Customs officials inspect the damage following Monday’s rollover vehicle incident.
 Image: 騰訊大遼網











“The accident has thrown customs offices on
either side of the border into mad panic,” she added. “Cadres from both customs
services surveyed the site of the accident and put things into motion, so
construction work is now underway.”
 

Starting at 8 p.m. on the day of the
accident, train services were up and running, but the battered roads with deep
crevices were covered with makeshift steel plates by North Korean workers,
allowing vehicles that had entered Sinuiju to return to Dandong. Reconstruction
work is currently being carried out by Chinese workers, according to the
source.
 

The source speculated that the project would be finalized by October 5, opening up the bridge for a massive trade of goods,
leading up to the Party celebration, which falls on the 10th.
 

*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.