There are suggestions that the reason the North was unusually quick in going public with information about the tragedy might be to put a stop to rumors the explosion was an attempt to assassinate National Defence Commission Chairman Kim Jong Il, but instead it should be seen as a result of the fact the scale of the damage was so great. The damage figures are gradually increasing. Ryongchon is a center of transport and trade and that by itself factored for a heavy number of casualties, but it is particularly sad to learn that many children from the nearby elementary school died as well. It is a positive development that the government has decided to give $1 million in emergency assistance, and the Republic of [South] Korea National Red Cross has proposed a meeting with its Northern counterpart.

The Red Cross should not be the only channel for aid, however. The government should move to activate multifaceted forms of aid, in addition to the spontaneous humanitarian aid of civic society. Times have changed so much that even the Grand National Party (GNP) has commenced on its own fundraising campaign to help Ryongchon. The government should do all it can, and unsparingly, to open new opportunities in intra-Korean relations. China, for its part, has already decided to give the North 10 million Yuan in needed goods, and other countries are also lining up to give aid.

As confirmed again in the disaster in Ryongchon, most of North Korea's social infrastructure is old and worn. In addition to swift humanitarian assistance, North and South also need to engage in serious discussion about long-term projects to modernize that infrastructure. This was a tragedy that never should have happened, but now it should wisely be used as an opportunity to promote a further ripening of relations.

The Hankyoreh, 26 April 2004.

[Translations by Seoul Selection. (PMS)]