China’s Liaoning Province will spend more than half a million dollars on a bridge into North Korea over the coming months to install “anti-terror monitoring points,” overhaul electrical systems and conduct daily maintenance, government documents show, despite the bridge going unused for years.

The new investments in the New Yalu River Bridge, which connects Dandong to the North Korean city of Sinuiju, specifically aim to improve border security, according to the Chinese announcement, but one expert told NK News that China’s insistence on funding the joint project also reflects Beijing’s long-term vision for regional infrastructure.

“I think the Chinese government