By Yoo Dong-ho
Staff Reporter

A chartered cargo ship will arrive in North Korea to deliver relief goods worth $400,000 for the victims of last week’s massive explosion at the North Korean town of Ryongchon.

The 1,534-ton freighter set out from the South’s western port of Inchon for the Northern port town of Nampo. The shipment will take about 20 hours to arrive at Nampo and an additional day to reach Ryongchon.

Seoul’s shipment is composed of 100,000 boxes of instant noodles, 10,000 bottles of mineral water, 3,000 blankets, 3,000 sets of relief materials and 3,000 items of clothing.

Further shipments will follow as Seoul has decided to meet a request for assistance by the North.

South Korea’s ruling Uri Party and the government agreed to provide the North with all of the requested items estimated to be worth up to 25 billion won ($21 million).

In the working-level meeting at the North Korean town of Kaesong Tuesday, North Korea asked Seoul to send 50,000 tons of cement, 10 bulldozers, 10 excavators, 500 tons of diesel oil, 1,000 tons of gasoline, 1,000 tons of steel beams, 50 television sets and 10,000 tons of food.

``The political community has shown broad support for the North. Such brotherly assistance will serve as a springboard to help to consolidate inter-Korean trust henceforth,’’ Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said.

South Korean nongovernmental organizations are also gearing up to provide relief goods for the blast victims. About 160 people were killed and 1,300 more were injured in the explosion that was estimated to be equal to that of 1,000 1-ton bombs.

yoodh@koreatimes.co.kr