Photos: China and North Korea Open New Border Bridge Amid Deepening Ties

The new Yalu River bridge connects Dandong, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea, boosting regional trade and cooperation.

The opening of a long-standing bridge connecting China and North Korea underscores deepening ties between the two neighbors as Pyongyang courts both Beijing and Moscow to reduce its economic isolation.

China's Ambassador Arjan, Xinhua, on Thursday held a groundbreaking ceremony for the New Yalu River Bridge, which connects the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong to the North Korean border city of Sinuiju.

A video from state media showed trucks decorated with the national flags of both countries lined up on the four-lane highway, which is itself decorated with the flags of China and North Korea.

In a video speech, Chinese Premier Li Qiang hailed the bridge as a "new milestone" in the countries' "traditional friendship" and urged both sides to use the opening to deepen communication and explore new cooperation in border areas, according to Xinhua. North Korean Prime Minister Park Tae-sung also delivered a video message.

The 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) road bridge is expected to ease pressure on the old China-Korea Friendship Bridge, a decades-old structure on the same route that carries railway lines and vehicles but can only handle one-way traffic at any one time.

According to Chinese data, more than 70% of official trade between the two countries is currently conducted through this crossing. The South Korean government has counted at least 17 active railways and railroads along the 1,400 km (870 mi) North Korea-China border.