Kim Jong Un Arrives in Dandong, China, Yonhap Reports

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has arrived in Dandong, China, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday, October 24, 2026. Yonhap cited a South Korean government source for the report. The Associated Press also reported the arrival on Saturday, citing Yonhap and the same unidentified government source. Reuters and Bloomberg carried the Yonhap report as well. No government in Seoul, Beijing or Pyongyang had confirmed the visit in the reports published on Saturday morning.

According to Yonhap, Kim crossed into China over a newly opened bridge between the two countries and arrived in Dandong, a Chinese border city. The Associated Press gave the same account of the crossing. The reports did not give a purpose for the visit. They did not give an itinerary, a list of meetings, or a length for Kim's stay in Dandong, and this article does not add any of those details.

No immediate confirmation

South Korea's presidential office did not immediately confirm the report, according to the Associated Press. A spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry did not have an immediate comment on the report, according to Reuters. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters. Readers should treat the visit as a visit reported by Yonhap, not as a visit announced by North Korea, China or South Korea. Each of the reports available on Saturday morning rested on the Yonhap account and its single government source.

The bridge crossing

China and North Korea officially opened their most significant land border crossing in Dandong this month, on October 15, 2026, according to Reuters. The opening was aimed at reviving trade and commerce after years of strained ties and pandemic related disruptions, Reuters reported. Yonhap said Kim's arrival in Dandong came by way of that newly opened bridge. A crossing by the North Korean leader, if confirmed, would be an early and prominent use of a route that reopened only days earlier, and it would put the bridge at the centre of the first reported trip of this kind since the opening.

Recent contacts between Beijing and Pyongyang

Kim's last known visit to China was in September 2025. He travelled to Beijing to attend the 80th Victory Day celebrations, and he held a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during that visit, according to Reuters. The Associated Press described the reported Dandong trip as Kim's first visit to China in a year. Xi Jinping made a state visit to North Korea in June, in a sign of improving ties, according to Reuters. The reported arrival in Dandong follows those two exchanges, the Beijing summit in September 2025 and the state visit to North Korea in June.

The wider diplomatic backdrop

On Friday, October 23, 2026, Reuters reported that United States President Donald Trump has been eager to restart talks with North Korea. United States and South Korean officials saw fading chances of Trump meeting Kim this year, according to that report. China hosts a summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next month in Shenzhen, and Trump is expected to attend, according to Reuters. The Yonhap report did not link Kim's reported arrival in Dandong to the Shenzhen summit or to any possible talks with the United States, and no such link was reported on Saturday morning.