South and North Korea were drawn together in the same group for the 2010 World Cup preliminary competition Sunday, meaning the cold war rivals will compete against each other for the first time in 15 years for a place at the tournament in 30 months time.
At the draw Sunday (local time) in Durban, South Africa, the host of the 2010 tournament, the two Koreas were placed in Asia's Group 3 along with Jordan and Turkmenistan.
They drew 0-0 when they last competed in 2005 for a regional tournament, but the South Korean side has a better record so far of five wins, three losses and one draw, including two wins in previous World Cup qualifiers.
A total of 170 countries went into Sunday's draw in Durban for the 2010 World Cup preliminary competition, with the teams chasing 31 places at the World Cup finals. Only hosts South Africa are guaranteed a spot at the tournament, even 2006 champions Italy must qualify to defend their title.
There will be 861 qualifying matches to determine the line-up for the 2010 World Cup finals, lasting more than 800 days and finishing in November 2009.
The South Korean team is ranked 42nd and North Korea 117th within the Federation of International Football Association.
As for the other competitors in group 3, South Korea drew 0-0 against Jordan at the 2004 Asian Games and lost 2-3 against Turkmenistan at the 1998 Asian Games.