China and North Korea opened the New Yalu River Bridge on Thursday, linking Dandong in northeastern China with Sinuiju in North Korea, according to a New York Times report and Chinese state media cited by other outlets.
The four-lane, 1.8-mile bridge had been delayed for more than a decade, the New York Post reported. Xinhua said the two sides would hold a launch ceremony. China completed construction and related facilities on its side in 2014, according to Al Jazeera and the Post, while work on the North Korean side remained unfinished for years. Al Jazeera reported that China’s exports to North Korea reached $2.3 billion last year, up 25 percent from the year before.