Image copyright AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS Image caption Mr Kim was pictured in state media speaking to an injured Chinese tourist 
 
 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed "bitter sorrow" over a bus accident that left 32 Chinese tourists and four North Koreans dead. 
 
 The accident took place on Sunday night in North Hwanghae province, when the tour bus plunged off a bridge. 
 
 It is rare for North Korea's tightly-controlled media to report on negative news, and for Mr Kim to acknowledge the incident itself is even more unusual. 
 
 China is the North's main political ally and largest trading partner. 
 
 "[Mr Kim] said that the unexpected accident brought bitter sorrow to his heart," the official KCNA news agency reported. 
 
 "He couldn't control his grief at the thought of the bereaved families who lost their blood relatives." 
 
 Image copyright AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS Image caption Mr Kim expressed his 'sorrow' to Chinese ambassador Li Jinjun (2nd R) 
 
 The North Korean leader was pictured visiting injured passengers in hospital. The report said he "personally learned about the treatment". 
 
 He also visited the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang, where he met the Chinese ambassador to North Korea Li Jinjun and "expressed his heartfelt condolences and sympathy." 
 
 China and North Korea have been long-time allies. Mr Kim's rapid visit to the injured people - and the reporting of it - is likely to be seen in part as a way of protecting his image among the Chinese population. 
 
 Chinese tourists make up an estimated 80% of foreign tourists to North Korea - providing an important source of currency for Pyongyang. 
 
 Mr Kim earlier this year visited Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, his first known foreign trip since he took office in 2011. 
 
 China is responsible for virtually all of North Korea's food and fuel aid and by many measures, can be considered its most important partner. 
 
 North Korea recently announced it was halting all nuclear and missile tests, as it builds up to major summit with the leaders of South Korea and the US. ||||| In this Sunday, April 22, 2018 image taken from video footage by China's CCTV via AP Video, an injured passenger receives medical treatment at a hospital following a bus accident in North Hwanghae province,... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Sunday, April 22, 2018 image taken from video footage by China's CCTV via AP Video, an injured passenger receives medical treatment at a hospital following a bus accident in North Hwanghae province, south of Pyongyang, North Korea. A traffic accident in southern North Korea has killed dozens... (Associated Press) 
 
 BEIJING (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with China's ambassador and visited a hospital where Chinese tourists were being treated after a deadly bus crash. 
 
 The crash Sunday evening killed 32 Chinese and four North Koreans, and two Chinese were seriously injured. China's official Xinhua News Agency said late Monday that the tourist bus fell from a bridge in North Hwanghae province in southern North Korea. 
 
 Photos provided by the North Korean government on Tuesday showed Kim meeting with Ambassador Li Jinjun at the hospital and at the Chinese Embassy. 
 
 China's Foreign Ministry said a medical team and diplomats were sent to help. It described the North Korean casualties as "workers." All visitors to North Korea must be accompanied by minders. 
 
 Chinese tourists make up the vast majority of visitors to North Korea, where they often pay homage at sites related to China's participation in the 1950-53 Korean War. 
 
 China and North Korea share a lengthy border and a traditional friendship. China remains Pyongyang's largest trading partner, although commerce has dropped off by about 90 percent under United Nations sanctions. 
 
 Only about 5,000 Westerners visit the isolated, hard-line communist state each year. Americans have been banned from traveling to North Korea without special permission from the U.S. State Department since September amid concerns about the fate of those detained there in the past. 
 
 The cause of the crash wasn't mentioned. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV showed the mangled wreckage in the dark with rain falling and rescue vehicles on the scene. 
 
 North Korean roads are often bumpy and poorly maintained. There is usually no lighting other than headlights at night, even on major roads outside of the cities. Drivers tend to travel at whatever speed they feel is safe, making the roads even more dangerous, particularly when the weather is bad.
– A crash that killed 32 tourists from North Korea's chief ally brought "bitter sorrow" to the heart of leader Kim Jong Un, according to Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency. The agency—in a rare admission of bad news—said the Chinese tourists and four North Koreans were killed when a tour bus plunged off a bridge in North Hwanghae province, south of the capital, the BBC reports. Kim "couldn't control his grief at the thought of the bereaved families who lost their blood relatives," KCNA said. The AP reports that China, source of the vast majority of foreign tourists to North Korea, has sent diplomats and a medical team to assist.