China conducted maintenance work on the Sino-North Korean Friendship Bridge in what may be preparations for the restart of Sino-North Korean trade, Daily NK has learned.

“Safety checks and maintenance aimed at restarting traffic over the bridge was conducted by the Chinese on Mar. 26,” a source in China told Daily NK today. “The maintenance work took all day.”

The Sino-North Korean Friendship Bridge carries more than 70% of trade-related traffic between the two countries. North Korea unilaterally shutdown traffic across the bridge in late January as part of broader efforts to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19.

The photograph (below) sent by Daily NK’s source shows several Chinese workers checking the bridge for defects. Daily NK was unable to confirm whether North Korean authorities conducted similar checks on their side of the bridge.