China offers 10 million yuan worth of relief goods to North Korea

On April 22, 2004, a strong explosion was caused by the contact of electric lines with tank wagons loaded with nitric ammonium fertilizer at the Ryongchon Railway Station in North Phyongan Province in northwestern part of North Korea. (朝鲜平安北道龙川火车站爆炸事故 in Chinese) According to preliminary investigations, the radius of damage was 2 km but the most serious damage was contained within a 1.5 km radius. The massive railway explosion near the Chinese border killed 161 people, injured at least 1,300, and nearly killed Kim Jong Il on his return from a visit to China. On April 24, 2004, The Ministry of Commerce of China announced that the Chinese government has decided to provide emergency free aid worth 10 million yuan to the North Korean government. On April 25, 2004, the first installment of emergency relief goods donated by the Chinese government arrived. The first installment of goods included food and was worth 500,000 RMB. The Chinese aid was handed over to Choe Rin Se, Vice-Chairman of the North Phyongan Provincial People's Committee. On April 30th, 2004, the rest of the relief goods -- including tents, blankets, foodstuff and building materials -- were received by the DPRK government. In total, the relief goods were worth 10 million RMB. Ri Yong Sok, Vice-chairman of the DPRK Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee arrived at the Pyongyang Airport to receive the aid. According to the UN OCHA Financial Tracking Service, the Chinese government provided 56.6 mts of food, tents and blankets worth 1.2 million USD.

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