🔻Kim Jong Un, after his trip to China, speaks about strengthening ties between the two countries

🔻Kim Jong Un, after his trip to China, speaks about strengthening ties between the two countries

Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, returned to his country after a short trip to China and a visit to a Korean War memorial in the border city of Dandong.

North Korea’s official news agency said on Sunday, October 25, that during his Saturday trip to China, Mr. Kim crossed a newly inaugurated bridge that connects the two countries.

The opening of this bridge, which came after years of delay, is seen as a sign of efforts by Beijing and Pyongyang to expand commercial and economic relations. China is North Korea’s largest trading partner.

North Korea’s state media, in its coverage of this trip, emphasized the historical importance of relations between the two countries and described the link between them as the result of military cooperation in the Korean war years of 1950 to 1953.

According to North Korea’s official news agency, during a visit to the Korean War memorial, Kim Jong Un said that his country’s people would “forever remember the glorious years of fighting alongside the Chinese people,” and that appreciation for the Chinese who helped North Korea in the war would be passed on to future generations.

The North Korean leader also, during his visit to the new bridge, expressed hope that this passage will play its historical role in connecting the two countries and bringing their peoples closer.

The trip took place on the eve of next month’s trip to the region by Donald Trump, the President of the United States, and is assessed as a sign of renewed efforts by China and North Korea to strengthen economic relations.

In the past two years, North Korea has also expanded its military ties with Russia and has sought to maintain a balance between its relations with Moscow and Beijing.

Kim Jong Un previously traveled to Beijing in September 2025 to attend a military parade. Xi Jinping, China’s president, also visited North Korea in June of this year.

The Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement, but the two Koreas have never signed a peace treaty and, in technical terms, remain in a state of war.