CHINA - Opens Bridge with North Korea

China and North Korea officially marked the long-delayed opening of their most significant land border crossing, aiming to rejuvenate trade and commerce after years of soured ties and pandemic-related disruptions to cross-border exchange.

China is by far Pyongyang’s largest trading partner, even after a series of U.N. sanctions banned the flow of goods and workers to and from North Korea over the country’s defiant missile and nuclear weapons development.

Analysts said North Korea, despite the potential economic boost from active trade, remains cautious of greater dependence on China.

“The bridge is unlikely to lead immediately to a full-scale return to pre-sanctions trade,” said Lim Eul-chul at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in South Korea.

But the bridge will help move heavy equipment, raw materials and energy products needed for North Korea’s development projects, he said.

-www.nbcnews.com, 15 October 2026

Commentary: While both are built on communist ideology, China’s relationship with the West stands in contrast with that of North Korea.

A Google search reveals: “China maintains a delicate and often uneasy strategic balance with Russia and North Korea, navigating a complex mix of shared opposition to the West and growing anxiety over Pyongyang and Moscow’s deepening bilateral ties.”

While GDP per capita was $488 in 1976, it has risen to $1,500 (PPP) according to Wikipedia’s reporting of the economy of North Korea in 2026.

When it comes to the Church, we read:

The Reality for Believers:

Underground Worshippers: Hundreds of thousands of Christians practice their faith in deep secrecy at extreme personal risk.

Persecution: Discovering a private Bible, holding unsanctioned prayers, or practicing secret Christianity can result in imprisonment in harsh labor camps, execution, or generational punishment for entire families.

External Reporting: Organizations like Open Doors US and Crossing Borders consistently document that true independent church structures outside of state surveillance do not openly exist.

The last four words are significant: “do not openly exist.” That means they do exist, and that corresponds to Jesus’ statement: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19).

Carefully note the words, “I will build my church.”

Believers in North Korea and other parts of the world solidly rely on the Scripture: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

(See Jesus and the End Times, Item #2356, $15.99.)