A-match North Korea in Pyongyang, Japanese media reporters of Korean descent and Koreans living in Japan are 'not allowed to enter the country'

North Korea has denied coverage applications from Korean media and Korean-Japanese reporters ahead of the World Cup qualifiers between North Korea and Japan to be held in Pyongyang.

North Korea and Japan will play the 4th match of Group B of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia Regional 2nd qualifier at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang at 5 p.m. on the 26th. The third game will be held in Japan on the 21st.

It has been five years since the North Korean national soccer team played an international match at home since the second round of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup qualifiers against South Korea on October 15, 2019.

Just like South Korea five years ago, Japan also appears to be embarrassed by the many restrictions ahead of its expedition to North Korea. 메이저사이트

The Japanese media outlet Sankei Shimbun reported on the 19th, “28 Japanese reporters applied to report on the Japanese national team’s expedition to North Korea, but 6 media outlets with Korean and American reporters, including the Sankei Shimbun, which includes a third-generation Korean resident in Japan reporter, did not report on North Korea. “I was refused entry,” the report said.

The media said, “North Korea did not even explain the reason for their refusal. “However, the only explanation that can be given is that the reason it was rejected despite meeting all the detailed documentation criteria requested by North Korea was related to South Korea and the United States,” he added.

Even during the Civil War in 2019, South Korean reporters were not allowed to visit Pyongyang. In addition, due to UN sanctions against North Korea, it was impossible to purchase broadcast rights to the game, so it was played as a 'blind game' where the game situation could not be confirmed in real time. It's the same this time too. In Japan, too, the live broadcast will not be transmitted to the home country, but will be provided in a video edited by North Korea at a later date. Japanese media ‘Football Zone’ said, “Expedition to North Korea is not easy. “If we think back to the 2011 expedition to Pyongyang, we must approach this expedition with the mindset of ‘going to space,’” he said. Meanwhile, in Group B of the North and Central America World Cup second qualifying round, Japan is leading the group with 2 wins (6 points), while North Korea is in second place with 1 win and 1 loss (3 points).  토토사이트 순위