North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has visited the hospital where victims of a bus crash, which claimed the lives of 32 Chinese tourists and four North Koreas, are being treated.
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Two other Chinese tourists were seriously injured in Sunday evening's crash when a tourist bus plunged from a bridge in North Hwanghae province in southern North Korea.
The North Korean government released photos on Tuesday showing Kim meeting with Ambassador Li Jinjun at the hospital and at the Chinese Embassy.
Medical teams and diplomats have been sent from China to assist the injured, China's Foreign Ministry said.
Chinese tourists make up the vast majority of visitors to North Korea, where they often pay homage at sites related to China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War.
China and North Korea share a lengthy border and a traditional friendship. China remains Pyongyang's largest trading partner, although commerce has dropped off by about 90 per cent under United Nations sanctions.
Only about 5000 Westerners visit the isolated, hard-line communist state each year.
Americans have been banned from travelling to North Korea without special permission from the US State Department since September amid concerns about the fate of those detained there in the past.
The cause of the crash was not mentioned. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed the mangled wreckage in the dark with rain falling and rescue vehicles on the scene.
Australian Associated Press
