Russia will send a plane carrying humanitarian supplies to North Korea next week to aid victims of a catastrophic rail explosion, a Russian news agency quoted a government official as saying.
"Medicine, tents, bed linen and clothes will be delivered to Pyongyang," in a government plane on Monday or Tuesday, Deputy Emergency Minister Yuri Brazhnikov said. He was quoted by the Interfax news agency.
An explosion at the Ryongchon railway station near the Chinese border on Thursday killed at least 154 people, including scores of children, injured more than 1,300 and sent debris flying for miles around, China's Xinhua news agency said.
The secretive North Korean state issued a rare appeal for international help to deal with one of the worst disasters in its history.
Brazhnikov said North Korea had requested building materials from Russia, which would be sent by rail later.
"This issue is under discussion between the Russian Federation Foreign Ministry and North Korea," he said.