Chinese premier hails new cross-border bridge as landmark of China-DPRK friendship

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday called on China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to take the opening of the new China-DPRK Yalu River bridge as an opportunity to continuously optimize port clearance, enhance connectivity, tap the potential for cooperation in border areas, and improve the well-being of the two peoples.

The bridge is bound to become a new landmark symbolizing the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK, Li said.

Li made the remarks when delivering a video speech at the opening ceremony of the bridge connecting northeast China's Liaoning Province and North Pyongan Province of the DPRK.

Noting that the bridge is an important cross-border infrastructure project that General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary Kim Jong Un have cared about and promoted, Li said that with the joint efforts of both sides, the opening of the bridge will not only effectively promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, but also further enhance personnel exchanges and strengthen the emotional bond between the two peoples.

China and the DPRK are friendly socialist neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, said Li, adding that, under the strategic guidance of the top leaders of the two parties and countries, China-DPRK relations are entering a new stage and opening a new chapter.

China is willing to work with the DPRK to continue making efforts to implement the important consensus reached by the two top leaders, strengthen strategic communication, consolidate political mutual trust, and expand practical cooperation, so as to continuously deepen the development of China-DPRK relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples, Li said.

Pak Thae Song, premier of the DPRK Cabinet, delivered a video speech.

Chinese premier hails new cross-border bridge as landmark of China-DPRK friendship

Chinese premier hails new cross-border bridge as landmark of China-DPRK friendship

Chinese premier hails new cross-border bridge as landmark of China-DPRK friendship

Chinese premier hails new cross-border bridge as landmark of China-DPRK friendship

Yemen's Houthi group said that it had carried out multiple attacks on Saudi and Saudi-led coalition targets, while the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a Houthi missile, and Yemeni government forces reported operations against the group on several fronts.

In a statement released early Thursday, the Houthis said they used a surface-to-air missile to hit a Saudi Typhoon fighter jet. The aircraft, they said, had taken off from Saudi Arabia's Taif Air Base and was hit over Yemen's Sa'adah Province. Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to the claim.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthis said they launched a large-scale attack using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against oil facilities of energy giant Saudi Aramco in Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia, as well as King Khalid International Airport and a Saudi Aramco refinery in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The Houthis said in a separate statement released Wednesday evening that the group had fired one more ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport and launched three ballistic missiles at Saudi-led coalition targets in southern Yemen.

Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on Wednesday that they had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's General Directorate of Civil Defense said in a statement on Wednesday that fragments from the intercepted missile fell in Riyadh, injuring one person.

Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that late on Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition carried out an airstrike on a residential building in the Al Maravi'ah area of Hodeidah province, which is under Houthi control. Early on Thursday, al-Masirah also reported that Yemen's capital, Sanaa, had come under Saudi attack.

According to a Houthi statement issued on Wednesday evening, the Saudi-led coalition launched 42 airstrikes and missile attacks on Houthi-controlled areas in the previous 24 hours. The Houthis said that Saudi attacks on islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait directly threatened the safety of maritime shipping routes.

Separately, Yemeni government forces said on Wednesday that they continued to strike Houthi targets and personnel on the eastern and southern fronts.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.

Houthis, Saudi-led coalition report fresh military actions against each other