BEIJING (AP) — A new bridge linking China and North Korea is set to open on Thursday, more than a decade after the Chinese side of it was built, in the latest sign of closer ties between the two countries.

The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday that both sides will hold a ceremony for the launch of the New Yalu River Bridge. The mammoth, 3-kilometer bridge will connect the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju.

The bridge was initially expected to enter use in 2014, but the date came and went no sign of an opening. In September 2014, the North Korean side ended in a dirt ramp with no customs or immigration buildings in sight.

At that time, it prompted an unusually sharp report in the Global Times — a newspaper affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party — that quoted Dandong residents expressing frustration over delays in what they had hoped would be an economic boon for their border city.

Foreign analysts suggested at the time that Pyongyang was wary of China’s economic influence in the country.

China is Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner and major ally, though Beijing has expressed disapproval over the years at North Korea’s missile tests.

The only current bridge between the two countries was built in 1937 when Korea was a Japanese colony. It carries a railway line, as well as cars and trucks, but vehicle traffic can move only one way at a time.

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