The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has officially requested aid from South Korea after the train blast in Ryongchon, said a top South Korean Red Cross official on Saturday.

"The DPRK's Red Cross chief Chang Chae-on informed me of the accident at Ryongchon Station and officially asked for help from South Korea on Friday," Lee Yoon-gu, president of the (South) Korean National Red Cross (KNRC), told reporters after he returned from Pyongyang earlier Saturday. Lee said he had promised DPRK officials that his organization would provide emergency relief including food and blankets.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency, Thursday's train explosions at the Ryongchon railway station in the DPRK were caused by electric sparks during the shunting of wagons loaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer. At least 154 people, including 76 primary school students, were killed and more than 1,300 injured in the explosion.

Earlier Saturday, the South Korean government decided to send one million US dollars worth of medical supplies and other emergency relief goods to the DPRK. The decision was made at an emergency meeting of government ministers chaired by Acting President and Prime Minister Goh Kun. Goh said that the government should offer emergency aid for the victims even if the DPRK makes no official request.

The government designated KNRC to contact with its DPRK counterpart to consulted details of the provision. Seoul hoped to make consultation with the DPRK on the issue when Red Cross of the two countries hold talks at the truce village of Panmunjom on Monday. It was reported that the KNRC will take additional relief measures once consultations with its DPRK counterpart are concluded.

Source: Xinhua