North Korean hospital struggles to cope

THE main hospital treating victims of a train explosion in North Korea laid out young patients on filing cabinets yesterday as it struggled to overcome a shortage of beds and problems with medical equipment, according to an aid official.

At the Sinuiju Provincial Hospital, just across the Chinese border into North Korea, 360 patients from the blast were undergoing treatment, according to Tony Banbury, Asia regional director for the UN World Food Programme. He said more than 60% of the victims were children.

"They clearly lack the ability to care for all the patients," Mr Banbury said.