South Korea is ready to dispatch a team of rescue workers to Japan to help the neighboring country cope with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake and tsunami, an official said Friday, amid fears of massive casualties from the disaster.

   The 8.9-magnitude quake struck off northeastern Japan at 2:46 p.m. (local time), leading Japan's meteorological agency to issue a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific coast of Japan, media reports said.

   "The government will provide active support for recovery and rescue efforts in the wake of the earthquake," a South Korean foreign ministry official said. "We have already put about 40 rescue workers on standby and plan to dispatch them if there is a request,"

   South Korea also plans to send messages of sympathy to Japan's government in the name of President Lee Myung-bak and Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, the official said. (Yonhap News)