18 Nov 2004(Thu)

Mysterious...secretive....the hermit nation...

Yes, of course, I am talking about North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, to give them their official name.

Like Japan, North Korea are already through to the final Asian qualifying round for the 2006 World Cup.

While Japan were winning Group 3 in Muscat last month, North Korea were winning Group 5 in Pyongyang thanks to a 2-1 victory over Yemen and a crushing defeat for the United Arab Emirates in Thailand.

So there is a good chance that Japan and North Korea might be drawn together in one of the two four-team groups on December 9th.

This is one of the reasons I am in Dubai, checking out the North Koreans before and during their final group game, against UAE on Wednesday night.

They arrived in the UAE on Monday lunchtime after an 18-hour journey from Pyongyang via Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Bahrain. After checking in at the Hotel Holiday International in nearby Sharjah, they had an afternoon snooze and then went for a training session at the Al Sharjah Club.

I must admit I have found them extremely relaxed, friendly and open.

Their team leader is Kim Jong Sik, a former FIFA referee and therefore a good English speaker. He is supported by Ri Hak Mu, a secretary for the North Korean National Olympic Committee.

The coach is Yun Jong Su, a youthful-looking 42-year-old who is a former captain of the national team. As a player he represented his country for 10 years, and he was a member of the North Korea squad at the final qualifying round for the 1994 World Cup in Doha, Qatar, in October 1993. (Sorry to mention that, Japan fans, as the 2-2 draw with Iraq is still a painful memory, despite what has happened since).

I have attended both training sessions, and the Koreans look fit and fast, sturdy and athletic. Even in the heat of the Gulf they were training at high speed.

They have won a group consisting of UAE, Thailand and Yemen, so they deserve not to be written off.

This is why Wednesday night's game will be interesting, because not many people know too much about them.

The coach was very pleasant and chatty in an interview for the "Football Asia" magazine and website at his hotel on Tuesday morning. The only secret he kept was his formation for Wednesday's game, but he's not alone in that.

The official training session that evening was open to the media, so I sat in a chair next to the Korean bench by the touchline and just watched for myself.

They actually seemed surprised that a Westerner is interested in them, even though their team from the 1966 World Cup in England remains a legend.

ends