North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has returned home by road after visiting a Korean War memorial in the Chinese border city of Dandong, North Korean state media reported on Sunday.
Kim visited the city on Saturday and crossed a newly opened bridge linking North Korea with China, its biggest trading partner. The bridge was seen as a symbol of efforts by Beijing and Pyongyang to strengthen their trade ties.
North Korean state media placed heavy emphasis on the historical significance of Kim’s visit, describing the two countries’ relationship as an “unbreakable” bond forged during the 1950–1953 Korean War.
During his visit, Kim said the North Korean people would “forever remember the glorious years of fighting alongside the Chinese people” and pass down “generational gratitude to the Chinese people who helped our revolution with blood”, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim was accompanied by a high-level North Korean delegation, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong, and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. The delegation was guided by Wang Huning, the fourth-ranking official in the Chinese Communist Party, during the visit to the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
The visit signals renewed efforts by China and North Korea to strengthen their economic relationship ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned trip to the region next month. It also comes as Pyongyang continues to deepen its military ties with Moscow, which have grown over the past two years.
Kim last visited Beijing in September 2025 for a military parade, while Chinese President Xi Jinping visited North Korea in June.
While viewing the newly opened bridge, Kim expressed confidence that it would fulfil its historic role in connecting the two countries and bringing their peoples closer together, KCNA reported.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950–1953 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
