SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: WORLD CUP 2010: North Korea World Cup team trains amid defection rumours which police deny

Record ID: 455659

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: WORLD CUP 2010: North Korea World Cup team trains amid defection rumours which police deny
  • Date: 19th June 2010
  • Summary: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (JUNE 18, 2010) (REUTERS) STADIUM WHERE NORTH KOREAN TEAM TRAIN STREET, WOMAN WITH CHILD ON HER BACK PASSING BUS WITH NORTH KOREAN TEAM ARRIVING POLICE AT GATE BUS DRIVING THROUGH GATE STADIUM PITCH NORTH KOREAN TEAM TRAINING FORWARD JONG TAE-SE JOGGING PITCH VARIOUS TEAM TRAINING, EXERCISING TAE-SE EXERCISING GOAL KEEPER KIM MYONG GIL PRACTISING VARIOUS TEAM PRACTISING
  • Embargoed: 4th July 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: International Relations,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAD9I8MIW7GMP7SWRMCEDDUX1M0
  • Story Text: North Korea's World Cup team trained on Friday (June 18) at their training ground in the outskirts of Johannesburg amid rumours that 4 of their players have gone missing.
    But the South African police have knocked down the report which was posted on a Portuguese website on Friday.
    South African police spokeswoman Brigadier Sally de Beer told Reuters that all the team members are accounted for.
    The report on the PortuGOAL.net website said the four players were missing when the Asian team played against Brazil in their opening match this week and were nowhere to be found.
    Secretive North Korea are appearing in their first World Cup Finals since 1966.
    The reclusive state dispatches security agents to keep tabs on athletes who travel abroad and subtly reminds them that its authorities will jail their family and friends if they try to defect, human rights groups have said.
    Recent exclusive pictures showed the team training at a public gym in Midrand in South Africa's Gaunteng Province.
    The North Koreans faced powerhouse Brazil on Tuesday (June 15) which did not end in a fairytale return to the World Cup finals, but they still were able to hold their heads high after a 2-1 defeat in their Group G opener.
    While Brazil dominated possession and were clearly the better side throughout, the North were by no means disgraced in their first appearance at the finals since reaching the last eight in England 44 years ago.
    In a performance that was more gritty than pretty, North Korea held the five-times world champions goalless in the first half before two defensive lapses saw them fall 2-0 behind midway through the second before a stunning consolation effort brought some cheer.
    North Korea faces Portugal in Cape Town on June 21.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register