North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly entered China via the newly opened New Yalu River Bridge, according to a South Korean government source cited in the Guardian’s report. The reported trip would be Kim’s first known journey abroad since September 2025.
The source said Kim travelled by train from Pyongyang to Sinuiju before crossing into the Chinese border city of Dandong, in Liaoning province. The Guardian also reported that Chinese Premier Li Qiang had travelled to Dandong, citing Yonhap. Neither Pyongyang nor Beijing had confirmed Kim’s visit by Saturday evening.
The reported movement follows the opening of the 3km New Yalu River Bridge on 15 October. A separate Guardian analysis said the four-lane crossing was carrying dozens of trucks and was expected to ease congestion on the older Friendship Bridge, while also giving China a potentially important channel for contact with North Korea.
The bridge’s opening came about a month after North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge across their shared border. That sequence has heightened attention on how Kim is balancing ties with Beijing and Moscow. The Guardian analysis cited experts who differed over whether the new crossings signal a contest for influence: some described China as seeking to reinforce its position, while another argued that Kim was trying to use both relationships without surrendering autonomy.
The timing also places the reported visit ahead of the anniversary of China’s entry into the 1950–53 Korean war on North Korea’s side. Japanese reporting cited by the Guardian said traffic controls had been imposed around the bridge and a nearby war museum, while hotel bookings had been restricted. Those measures were attributed to a visit by a senior North Korean official, but they do not independently confirm Kim’s presence.