North Korea target the World Cup

Japan-born Jong, dubbed "Asia's Wayne Rooney" by South Korean media, is confident the North can reach South Africa 2010 despite being drawn in the harder of two final Asian qualifying groups.

"I think the players of the Republic have very high individual skills and the team has functioned as a unit with defensive tactics which allowed individual defensive skills to show. This is a factor in our success," said Jong.

He believes the handful of team members who play in the "outside world" have helped the rest of the squad, most of whom ply their trade in Pyongyang's 12-team central league.

"I think our presence rather than our capability is what matters most. I can feel how much they care about how we, as professionals playing football in the outside world, prepare ourselves mentally in training and matches."

North Korea are targeting only their second ever World Cup and first since England 1966, when they stunned the football world by becoming the first Asian team to reach the quarter-finals, upsetting Italy 1-0 en route.

Their new-found success under coach Kim Jong-Hoon is a far cry from just a few years ago when they all but vanished from international football after losing to Japan and South Korea in qualifiers for the 1994 tournament.

Football may be the most popular sport in North Korea but that did not stop all-powerful leader Kim Jong-Il, angered by the team's poor fortunes, from banning the team from travelling abroad for 10 years.

They returned to international football at the Bangkok Asian Games in late 1999 but did not compete in qualifying for the 1998 World Cup in France or the 2002 edition.

That fit of pique passed but the North's players are subject to travel restrictions that would be unthinkable for most international footballers, said one seasoned follower of the team.

Ri Gwang-Hong, executive director of the Pyongyang-friendly Korean Football Association in Japan, has watched most the qualifiers so far.

"The (next) qualifying group has many Middle East countries so it will be difficult for us to schedule our travels. It is not as easy as in Japan when it comes to immigration control. We have to find a way," said Ri.

Immigration and political concerns means "our team plays fewer matches abroad than any other team," he said.

Ri also knows that if the team is to come through a group comprising Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and, again, cross-border rivals South Korea, they will have to do more than just soak up the pressure and play on the break.

"We will aim for a kind of football in which we try not to lose, counting on home advantage and withstanding tough conditions on the road," he said.

"It is not good for us to defend only," he added, admitting the side lacks players with individual skill.

"But we are patient and we never give up," Ri said.

North Korea have the first of their eight final qualifiers on September 6 at UAE and face South Korea four days later.