Signs of Life at New Sinuiju-Dandong Crossing
Commercial satellite imagery shows signs of activity at customs posts on both the North Korean and Chinese sides of a new crossing point between Sinuiju and Dandong. Low levels of vehicle activity and the presence of a few cargo containers on the Chinese side likley indicate preparatory work for the link’s full opening.
Construction on both sides of the New Yalu River Bridge concluded earlier this month with the completion of the North Korean customs area. The link appears ready for use but todate, no significant trade activity has been observed. The crossing is expected to become the primary trade pathway between the two countries, replacing the single-lane Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge further north, and the largest border crossing for road traffic between North Korea and China. One report suggests the crossing could open within days.
Recent Activity
On the North Korean side of the bridge, several cargo containers are visible in the customs yard and other objects have appeared nearby. Between two satellite images taken hours apart on September 28, around 16 trucks appeared in a corner of the customs complex during the day.
On the Chinese side of the bridge, several smaller vehicles are present near one of the entrances to the yard although no activity has been observed in the yard.
On the bridge itself, several vehicles are visible on the Chinese side although they appear parked at the side of the roadway and are likely associated with maintenance work.
There are also a number of unidentified objects staged in a parking lot between the customs yard and the riverbank. They first began appearing on imagery from June 20; it is unclear if they are related to potential opening ceremonies.
Imagery shows that the old Sino-Korean Friendship bridge is still in use. The bridge’s Chinese customs yard in downtown Dandong was empty at around 11:30am local time on September 28 and packed with around 60 trucks around 3:40pm. Trucks were also visible on the bridge. The bridge’s North Korean customs yard was not captured in the image.
