North Korea vs Japan World Cup qualifier off over ‘unforeseen circumstances’

“I told them it will take us at least two or three days (to answer). I told them it’s difficult,” he said.

Earlier this week Japan’s foreign ministry warned football fans not to attempt to travel to the country for the match.

“As you know, North Korea takes a hostile view of Japan and travel is not recommended for the general public,” it said on X, formerly Twitter.

Fourteen government officials had been set to accompany the Japan team for the match as well as a small number of media outlets, broadcaster NHK reported.

Relations have long been dogged by issues including compensation for Japan’s brutal occupation of the Korean peninsula between 1910 and 1945 and more recently by Pyongyang’s firing of missiles over Japanese territory.

The abduction by North Korean agents of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s — forced to train spies in Japanese language and customs — has also long been a major point of contention.

Despite being isolated and poor, North Korea qualified for the 2010 World Cup.

But they were knocked out at the group stage following three defeats, including a 7-0 thumping by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.

They also qualified in 1966 when they famously beat Italy 1-0 and made it to the quarter-finals.