N Korea blast damage put at $350m

Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the explosion

North Korea says the damage caused by Thursday's train explosion amounted to an estimated $350m.

The state news agency said "horrible" human and material loss had seen more than 30 public buildings and homes for 8,000 families destroyed.

At least 150 people died and 1,300 were hurt when a train hit a power line, igniting wagons of oil and chemicals.

Earlier, the World Food Programme (WFP) appealed for 1,000 tonnes of emergency food aid to help the survivors.

'Food emergency'

The official Korean Central News Agency reported: "Results of further investigation into the explosion of wagons... say that the damage is unexpectedly gaining in scope.

"Horrible is human and material loss within the radius of 4km [2.5 miles]."

Pyongyang only officially acknowledged the scale of the tragedy at Ryongchon late on Monday.

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The WFP warned that relief efforts for people affected by the devastating North Korean train blast were depleting limited food stocks.

"We are, in the short term, meeting the emergency food aid needs of these people through the existing stocks," said Anthony Banbury, the programme's regional director for Asia.

"While we're shifting some stocks, we need to replace those stocks as soon as possible, and we have a very limited supply of food now in North Korea," he added.

WFP aid workers also say hospitals treating the survivors of last week's explosion have no modern medical equipment of any kind.

They described conditions as "very basic", saying that even simple items like intravenous drips were scarce.

Germany on Tuesday pledged 100,000 euros in aid, while France said it would contribute 50,000 euros to the aid effort.

Australia and Canada have also pledged aid after the reclusive communist state made a rare appeal for international assistance.

So has the United States, which has been locked in an 18-month standoff with Pyongyang over its nuclear programmes.