Pyongyang says it will allow Seoul to truck emergency relief supplies and construction workers directly across the inter-Korean border to help rebuild the North Korean town of Ryongchon, recently devastated by a deadly train explosion.

The North Korean Red Cross notified Seoul Friday that it would allow some twenty South Korean trucks loaded with building materials and heavy equipment to travel via overland route to the North's Gaesong city, near the western part of the border separating the two Koreas.

The organization also pledged to consider Seoul's proposal to send technicians to the North's city of Sinuiju near the Chinese border in order to teach North Koreans how to use the machinery to be sent to the North.

Pyongyang's latest decision is a major turnaround from its earlier position. On Monday, the North turned down Seoul's offer to truck relief goods directly across the heavily fortified border, apparently out of security concerns.