Unfinished bridge reveals broken state of North Korea’s alliance with China | Cities | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/nov/14/dandong-sinuiju-unfinished-bridge-reveals-broken-state-north-korea-alli
From Dandong, the largest Chinese city on the border with North Korea, it’s just a short hop to the Hermit Kingdom – or rather, a short swim. In summer, bronzed Chinese bathers wade into the Yalu River and paddle 400 metres to the opposite bank, where armed North Korean soldiers watch from turquoise guard towers over women washing clothes along the muddy bank. The North Koreans don’t dare swim.
“There are North Korean soldiers hiding in the long grass,” says one elderly Chinese woman swimming by the bank. “They will catch you and charge a ransom if you get too close.”