U.S. Sending Aid to N. Korean Victims

The United States will give the Red Cross $100,000 to help people left homeless in North Korea after last week’s devastating train explosion, the White House said Monday.

The administration also is prepared to provide medical supplies and equipment as well as a team of specialists in emergency medicine to work with the North Koreans if needed, a White House statement said.

Despite differences with communist North Korea over its weapons programs and authoritarian policies, the United States has been the largest provider of food aid to the economically beleaguered country.

“We provide all humanitarian aid in disasters based on need without regard to political issues,” White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said.

Last year, the United States provided North Korea with 100,000 tons of food.

The death toll from Thursday’s train explosion stood at roughly 160 Monday, and more than 1,300 people were injured.

In Ryongchon, a North Korean town where homes were pulverized in the explosion, tents and blankets, instant noodles and water purification tablets were streaming in.

The U.S. has no formal diplomatic relations with Pyongyang. Along with China, South Korea, Japan and Russia, the administration is in the midst of trying to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.