NK footballers to play in Incheon Asiad

By Kim Tong-hyung

North Korean athletes will participate in the football competition at this year’s Asian Games, which kick off in the South Korean city of Incheon in September, the country’s state news agency said Monday.

At the time of writing, officials from Incheon’s organizing committee were trying to confirm whether Pyongyang sent an official document expressing its intention to compete. The Korea Central News Agency didn’t say whether North Korean athletes will participate in competitions other than football.

``(North Korea’s) men and women national teams will participate in the 2014 Asian Games that take place from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4,’’ the KCNA said in a statement.

The country’s footballers will be participating in a number of international events this year, the agency said. This includes the preliminaries for the 2015 men’s Asia Football Confederation (AFC) under-22 championships that start in July and the AFC under-14, -16 and -19 championships that continue through August and October.

Earlier in the day, Kim Yeong-soo, head of the Incheon organizing committee, expressed optimism about the chances of North Korea participating in the sporting event.

``There is no reason to think that North Korea won’t participate,’’ Kim said in a news conference.

``As organizers, we definitely want North Korea in Incheon. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is also persuading North Korea to participate.’’

Last year, South Korea officially invited North Korea to participate in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games through the OCA, which represents 45 member states.

In 2002, North Korea sent 184 athletes and a squad of more than 100 female cheerleaders to Busan, which was the venue for that year’s Asian Games.

In 2003, North Korea sent nearly 200 athletes and 300 cheerleaders to Daegu to attend that year’s Universiade, the world university games.

North Korea’s announcement that it will be sending its footballers to Incheon came days after it demanded the South scrap its joint military exercises with the United States following a recent series of gestures aimed at easing inter-Korean tension. South Korea rejected the demand, accusing North Korea of ``deceptive’’ ploys.