South Korea's Red Cross has offered to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea following reports of a massive explosion near the North's border with China.

The president of the South Korean Red Cross Lee Yoon-goo is currently on a visit to the North's capital of Pyongyang.

A Red Cross official in Seoul who talked with Lee over the phone quoted him as saying that he did not hear any local news of the explosion or requests for assistance.

The official stressed the Red Cross is ready to extend cross-border aid to help with disaster recovery efforts.