North and South Korea are in dispute over national anthems and flags in advance of a rare soccer match in Pyongyang next month, a report said yesterday.
The two sides will meet in the North's capital on March 26 in a regional qualifier for the 2010 World Cup finals.
It will be the first time the national teams have played each other in Pyongyang since a friendly was staged in 1990 to symbolize hopes for reunification.
But the North at a preparatory meeting last Tuesday refused to let South Korea display its flag and play its national anthem at the match, the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said.
"We were not able to communicate at all because the North Koreans said they cannot play the South Korean anthem and hang the national flag, even though it is not a friendly match but an official match hosted by FIFA," the newspaper quoted Cho Jung-yeon, vice president of the Korea Football Association, as saying.
"The North Koreans said that they have never seen the South Korean flag hung up in the sky and heard the national anthem played on their soil in history, so they said they could never allow them," Cho said. "But I said it is nonsense to use the Korean Peninsula Flag and Arirang instead, in a country-to-country match."
North and South Korea marched together under the "unification" peninsula flag at the Asian Games opening ceremony in Doha last December, where the traditional "Arirang" song was performed.
"We made it clear that we should use the national flag and anthem. Now the ball is in North Korea's court," Cho said. "If we cannot reach an agreement, we cannot exclude the possibility of playing in a third country."
The communist North and capitalist South have remained technically at war since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean conflict and neither nation officially recognizes the other's existence.
South Korea beat Turkmenistan 4-0 in their latest Asian qualifier last week, while North Korea defeated Jordan 1-0.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
RSS