China and North Korea open new border bridge after 12 years

China and North Korea opened a new bridge connecting their two countries on Thursday. The New Yalu River Bridge links the Chinese city of Dandong with the North Korean city of Sinuiju. It is 3,026 metres long and has four lanes, so vehicles can travel in both directions at the same time. China paid for the whole construction. Workers finished building the bridge in 2014, but it took twelve more years to open because North Korea was not ready on its side. The two countries already share an older bridge from 1937, which carries more than 70 percent of their official trade. That bridge can only move traffic one way at a time, which slows things down. Before the ceremony, trucks completed test runs across the new bridge.