Thousands injured in North Korean train crash

Thousands of people were reported injured, many killed, when two trains carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas collided and exploded in a North Korean train station, hours after leader Kim Jong Il passed through on his return from a China visit.

It was not known exactly how many people died but at least 3,000 were injured, said YTN, South Korea’s all-news cable channel.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, quoting sources in the Chinese city of Dandong that borders the North, said the explosion took place at Ryongchon, nine hours after Kim passed through on his way back to Pyongyang.

Ryongchon is about 12 miles from the Chinese border.