YONHAP NEWS

(2nd LD) Koreas draw 1-1 in East Asian derby

   (ATTN: ADDS comments from managers in paras 8-11; ADDS time for red card in para 6; CORRECTS historical record in last para and players' names in paras 4 and 6; TRIMS thruout)
CHONGQING, China, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- The two Koreas played to a one-all draw Wednesday in an East Asian football derby that preceded their crucial World Cup qualifier scheduled for next month in Pyongyang.

   The match at the Olympic Stadium in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing drew particular media attention as it was widely seen as a preview of the March 26 qualifier in Pyongyang for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

   Following the first inter-Korean match in more than two years, South Korea now tops the East Asian Football Federation Championship round-robin along with Japan, which had downed host China 1-0 hours earlier. The two top seeds will compete against each other on Saturday to determine the final winner of the four-nation series.

   The first goal of the Wednesday night duel came off the left foot of Yeom Ki-hun in the 20th minute when the South Korean midfielder curled a mid-range freekick into the corner of the North Korean net past a diving goalie and a blockade of defensemen.

   North Korea, led by star forward Jong Tae-se, equalized in the 72nd minute when the 24-year-old playing in the J-League charged into the South Korean zone and rifled the ball past a charging goalie.

   The game was briefly interrupted after the second half began, when North Korea's Pak Chol-jin was red-carded in the 47th minute for throwing the ball high up in the air in an apparent effort to delay South Korea's freekick near the sideline.

   During the injury time, Jong was carried off the pitch on a stretcher after he fell on the ground while trying to dodge a sliding South Korean player. No details on his physical condition were immediately available.

   In a press meeting following the match, North Korean manager Kim Jeong-hoon said he had a good opportunity to inspect the South Korean rival ahead of the March faceoff.

   "Now that we've had a match, we can now better understand how the opponents attack and defend, and the characteristics of each of the rival players," he said.

   His South Korean counterpart, Huh Jung-moo, said the North's forward, Jong, was a player "with more strengths than weaknesses."
"But I believe our players can cover him better starting next time," he said, adding he will seek to step up overall defense ahead of the qualifier in Pyongyang.

   South and North Korea are lumped in Group C with Jordan and Turkmenistan for the third round of regional World Cup qualifiers. South Korea trounced Turkmenistan 4-0 on Feb. 6 while the North downed Jordan 1-0.

   South Korea seeks to claim its seventh ticket to the World Cup while the North has failed to grab a berth since its sensational drive into the quarterfinals of the world competition in England in 1966.

   The South, which ranks 41st in the world, nows claims a record of five wins, four ties and a loss over the 120th-seeded North in men's football.

  (END)