The border with China is marked by the Yalu (Amnok) River. The city is connected to Dandong in China via the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge (or China-Korea Friendship Bridge). This is one of the only ways to enter North Korea. The city is a Terminus on the Gyeongui railroad line (known as the P'yŏngui in the North) and is 25 miles (40km) from the mouth of the Yalu River.

It is connected with the Chinese city of Dandong (renamed from Andong/Antung) in Liaoning Province (People's Republic of China) by the Yalu River Bridge which is 944 m long (3,097 feet) from end to end, and through the Manchuria Railway links up with the Trans-Siberian railway.