New bridge between China, North Korea opens

The New Yalu River vehicle bridge, which spans 3,026 metres, opened on Thursday to link China and North Korea. Trucks carrying North Korean and Chinese flags began traveling in both directions over the structure late in the morning, 12 years after its completion, according to The Korea Times.

Separately, North Korea test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, on Wednesday. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the tests served as a navy training exercise to examine the mobilized posture of underwater combat systems and demonstrated the reliability of the country's war deterrents.

KCNA stated the launches had no adverse impact on the security of neighboring countries. Photographs released by KCNA showed one missile blasting vertically from the sea with a thick plume of smoke and another projectile erupting at a 45-degree angle.

The missile tests follow weeks of friction between Pyongyang and Seoul regarding a September 21 landmine explosion in the Seoul-controlled area of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that injured three South Korean soldiers. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it monitored the launches from before the launch through the terminal phases of flight, assessing that one missile was launched from a vertical launch system and another from a torpedo tube, according to the Japan Times.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times, Japan Times, Channel News Asia, Malay Mail — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.