North Korea offered 2002 World Cup role

North Korea has been offered the chance to stage part of the World Cup football finals which are being jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan in two-thousand-and-two.

The World Cup committee in Seoul says it is awaiting a reply from Pyongyang to the offer of staging at least one match.

North Korea originally offered to co-host the finals with the South but was refused permission by the international football federation (FIFA).

The president of the organisation, Joao Havelange, said last month that he would be travelling to the North in the New Year to offer it the chance of hosting some of the matches.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service