China’s Dandong realty prices jump on Korea talks

Beijing: The dramatic diplomatic thaw on the Korean peninsula is sparking an unexpected economic windfall on the Chinese border, where property prices are skyrocketing. The northeastern border city of Dandong — the main artery for China’s trade with North Korea — has been in the doldrums since the United Nations punished Pyongyang for its nuclear and long-range missile tests last year.

The sanctions put a squeeze on trade in seafood, textiles and other commodities, and forced hundreds of North Korean workers to leave Chinese factories there.

But property prices in the city surged in the weeks leading up to the historic summit between the two Koreas, with speculators snapping up homes expecting prices to rise further.

It’s an unexpected bonanza for a region that was bracing itself for an influx of North Korean refugees and even possible radiation just months ago amid worries about war on the peninsula.