Then North Korea attacked, and suddenly Japan was in danger. There were only a few minutes played in the second half of the World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Thursday. The forces seemed to shift. Coach Hajime Moriyasu’s home team actually had everything under control before the break, made it 1-0 early on and created chance after chance with good passing play. The North Koreans appeared vulnerable and too weak for dangerous counterattacks. But now they looked different, more confident, braver. They moved forward. A shot came out of nowhere. The ball hit the post of the Japanese goal and came right back. Suddenly he was in the goal.
Compensation? No, offside. Futile North Korean protests. Japan found its way back to its game. The lead held, but the game was a lesson: Even those who handle the ball with fine technique should not underestimate the power of the North Koreans.
When teams from North Korea perform, it’s a chance to get an impression that you wouldn’t get otherwise. North Korea’s socialist party dictatorship is one of the most secretive regimes in the world. Heavily guarded, insular, authoritarian and outwardly very clear in its determination to defend itself with nuclear weapons. In the liberal nations of the West, secret service agents, diplomats and scientists keep an eye on the country. They try to draw conclusions from every movement they can detect in satellite images, from every message that the state media publishes about ruler Kim Jong-un. What does North Korea want? What is North Korea doing? How is North Korea doing? These are the core questions.
For three and a half years, it was as if North Korea had disappeared in world sport
Top international sport has always been the only field in which North Korea gave at least a superficial answer. It read: We are well enough to put together a group of fit athletes. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, for example, when North Korea was eliminated without a win, but only lost 2-1 to Brazil in the opening game.
Or in October 2019, in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. North Korea’s selection welcomed the South Korean team in Pyongyang. Since the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, both Koreas have been practically at war because there was never a valid peace treaty after the fighting ended – and so North Korea played in the empty Kim Il Sung Stadium. South Korea’s captain Heung-min Son later said: “The opponents were very rude, and there were moments when very offensive words were exchanged.” The game ended 0-0. Son called it “an achievement” that no one was injured.
A little later the pandemic began. The health system in North Korea is poor and fears of the coronavirus were great. The regime practically no longer allowed anyone into the country and no one out. Not even top athletes. For three and a half years, it was as if North Korea had disappeared in world sport. There were no longer any tangible impressions of the North Korean fighting spirit.
A block in Tokyo was dressed in the vibrant red of North Korean fans.
(Photo: Issei Kato/Reuters)
The pandemic seemed to last longer for North Korea than for the rest of the world. But now the regime dares to go outside again. Kim Jong-un likes sports, and the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico offers him the chance to see the fighting spirit of his people again on live television in the free world. It is taking place for the first time with 48 teams – the chance of qualifying is better than ever.
And now North Korea is back in the world’s big stadiums. Of course only in the version that the Kim regime itself wants to see. Eleven football athletes loyal to the state lined up in the cool spring weather in Tokyo’s national stadium on Thursday evening, many of them so unknown that not even the specialist portal’s otherwise very reliable data system kicker.de she knew. They sang the national anthem with concentration. Patriotic pride was in their eyes. They seemed conspired, as befits a North Korean collective. And they weren’t alone. The wide area of the national stadium was full of the samurai blue of the Japanese jerseys. But one block was dressed entirely in the bold red of the North Korean team. North Korea has some fans in Tokyo.
Is passion a feature of dictatorship football?
There is a large North Korean community in Japan, numbering about 25,000 people. The so-called Chosen-seki are descendants of Korean families who came to Japan during the colonial period from 1910 to 1945. They were born and raised in Japan but do not want Japanese or South Korean citizenship. The Chongryon organization looks after them and also runs schools. There, in the midst of Japanese capitalism, Chosen-seki are raised to be uncritical supporters of the regime in Pyongyang. The dedication in the red block was remarkable. The North Korea fans sang, drummed and danced throughout the entire game. They seemed almost more enthusiastic than the singing congregation of Japan fans in the other corner of the stadium.
Is this passion a feature of dictatorship football? Does it arise when a system trains people to be submissive? Is it perhaps even a survival strategy in a regime that essentially thinks primarily of itself? Hard to say. In any case, the North Koreans’ commitment was right, as was their fitness and team spirit. However, the team also started the game sleepily. With the first Japanese offensive wave, they couldn’t get the ball away. Ao Tanaka from Fortuna Düsseldorf took the early lead with a well-aimed follow-up shot.
Japan’s 1-0 win was too low. Luck and the good goalkeeper Kang Ju-hyok from the North Korean first division team Hwaebul Sports Club saved North Korea from worse. Japan is also favorite for the second leg on Tuesday, especially since, contrary to expectations, it will not take place in Pyongyang, as the Japanese Football Association announced on Thursday. State media in North Korea report a “malicious infectious disease”, which is probably why Pyongyang does not want to host the game.
Nevertheless, there was also a reason for the North Koreans to be satisfied with their performance in the free world: namely that short phase in the second half in which they showed that their strength should not be underestimated.