China shuts friendship bridge with North Korea

TOKYO: Chinese authorities temporarily closed a border bridge that connects Dandong in China’s Liaoning Province and Sinuiju, North Korea.

The closure of the friendship bridge is scheduled to last for 10 days, authorities said. Coinciding with the closure, Dandong customs, which handles about 70% of trade between China and North Korea, also suspended its operations.

An official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the bridge was being closed because the North Korean side will conduct repairs on the iron bridge.

However, observers believe China means to send a warning to North Korea, which has been accelerating its development of nuclear weapons, by limiting bilateral trade.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is meeting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing tomorrow for talks over how to ease soaring tensions in the nuclear stand-off.

Independent scientists have confirmed the claim of the missile’s reach but doubt that the North has mastered the re-entry and warhead technology needed to wage intercontinental nuclear war.

The launch triggered a resumption of the war of words between US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, as the largest joint war games between South Korea and the US began on the peninsula last week. — The Japan News / Asia News Network