Watch: China confirms 'Friendship Bridge' to North Korea closed for maintenance
China's 'Friendship Bridge' to North Korea closed
Construction on at least two apartment complexes in Dandong has stalled and empty shopfronts are scattered across the city
China's Foreign Ministry said on Fridaythat Dandong's Friendship Bridge, which connects with the North Korean town of Sinuiju across the Yalu river, will be closed for maintenance.
Dandong has boomed in recent years, swept up by speculation that North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, would, in time, copy China's export-oriented economic reforms.
But many of those firms have since folded, residents and traders say. Construction on at least two apartment complexes in Dandong has stalled and empty shopfronts are scattered across the city.
China's trade with North Korea fell to $334.9 million in October, its lowest since February as imports sank to their weakest in years, data showed on Thursday (November 25), the latest sign that tough new sanctions cut business with its isolated neighbour.