The Chinese Embassy to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday confirmed that two Chinese were killed and 12 others injured in a train explosion Thursday in Ryongchon, North Pyong'an province of DPRK.

Among the 12 injured Chinese, two sustained serious injuries and the rest 10 were lightly wounded.

Twenty Chinese resident houses have collapsed and three Chinese houses were blown down in the train explosion.

The Chinese embassy to DPRK has set up a special team to deal with the accident and will provide essential assistance to the victims.

The accident was caused by the leaking of ammonium nitrate in one of the trains.

So far, the DPRK official media has yet to confirm the train explosion.

Earlier on Friday, South Korean officials said a large explosion occurred near a train station in the northwest of the DPRK on Thursday afternoon, killing or injuring up to 3,000 people, the Yohap news agency said.

"We've obtained the information that there was a large explosion near Ryongchon Station," a South Korean defense ministry official told the Yohap news agency. "We have yet to find out the cause of the incident, the kind of explosion and how many died."

The entire area "was turned into ruins comparable to the aftermath of a massive bombing," witnesses were quoted as saying.

The accident occurred when two trains carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas collided and exploded in Ryongchon, a town about 20 km south of the border with China.

DPRK authorities declared a state of emergency in the area after the explosion, and the investigation of the cause is underway, Yonhap said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2004)