N. Korea train blast kills 3,000 people

Two trains carrying flammable material have collided and exploded at a North Korean train station, nine hours after the country’s leader passed through on his way back from China, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

The blast happened at Ryongchon station, 50km north of Pyongyang, South Korea’s YTN television said.

The incident reportedly happened nine hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il passed through the station on his way home from a visit to Beijing.

Mr Kim had been in China to discuss North Korea’s nuclear programme.

The report was based on information from unnamed Chinese sources near the border with North Korea, said news agencies.

North Korea rarely reports its own accidents.

South Korea’s Yonhap agency said the colliding trains were carrying gasoline and gas, and that they crashed at around 1300 local time (0400 GMT).

The report has not yet been confirmed by South Korean officials.

"The station was destroyed as if hit by a bombardment and debris flew high into the sky," Yonhap quoted its sources as saying.