Kim Jong Un makes his first China trip in over a year and opens a new bridge at Dandong

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first visit to China in over a year^1,5. He arrived in the border city of Dandong, where he said he had made a “special trip” to pay tribute to Chinese soldiers who fought in the Korean War².

Kim and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi first visited the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, Xinhua said⁴. He was welcomed by a Chinese delegation that included Wang Yi and Wang Huning⁷, described as China’s No. 4 official⁸.

The visit ended with a see-off ceremony on the new Yalu River Bridge on Saturday, 24 October⁵. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui joined officials for a photograph on the New Yalu River Bridge at Dandong³.

What each side said

Kim vowed to strengthen ties with China during the Dandong visit⁶, and he returned home praising Chinese leader Xi Jinping as North Korea seeks closer ties with Beijing³. Wang Yi said the trip showed a “friendship forged in blood”¹⁰.

Kim did not meet Xi. One analyst, Kang, said the absence of a Xi meeting was unremarkable given the trip’s purpose, which was to express gratitude to China⁹. In Dandong, Kim invoked the wartime past while looking towards an economic future¹¹.

Why it matters to investors

The guest list drew attention in Seoul. The one-day trip included Wang Yi and Ma Zhaoxu, raising questions about whether Beijing is laying groundwork for North Korea–US talks⁸.

South Korean coverage framed the visit as a possible message to Trump⁷. With Trump due next month, Kim threw his weight behind China, according to one reading of the trip¹⁰. The visit also reaffirmed “blood ties” while Beijing keeps watch on Moscow⁹.

Kim has opened his borders to both of his key allies, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, but for different reasons¹³. How he balances the two shapes the security backdrop for Northeast Asia.

What to watch

Attention is turning to how the visit affects any resumption of talks, a question raised by Nam Sung-wook, a chair professor at Sookmyung Women’s University and former head of the National Security Strategy Institute¹². The next markers are Trump’s expected trip next month¹⁰ and whether the new bridge at Dandong carries more traffic between the two countries^3,5.