Kim Jong-un Makes First Visit to China in Over a Year

JUST IN: North Korea's Kim Jong-un makes his first visit to China in over a year, crossing the border on a newly opened bridge as Pyongyang and Beijing move to deepen ties.

Kim Jong-un just walked into China for the first time in over a year.

And he did it on foot, across a brand new bridge over the border, with the full ceremony treatment. You can see it here, flags, officials, children waving, the whole production. Pyongyang doesn't do casual visits. When Kim crosses that river, it's a message, and the bridge itself is the headline, a physical, concrete link between the two countries that's now officially open for business.

For Beijing, this is Xi Jinping pulling his most isolated neighbour closer at a moment when the region is already tense. For Kim, China is the lifeline, the trade, the cover at the UN, the one relationship he can't afford to let cool.

The last time these two met, the world got weeks of speculation about what was promised behind closed doors. Watch what crosses that bridge next, because it won't just be delegations.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.