N Koreans arrive for Japan match

The North Korean team were given a warm welcome at the airport

N Korea's football team has arrived in Japan for a World Cup qualifying match that looks set to have political as well as footballing interests at stake.

It is the first time the North Koreans have tried to qualify for the World Cup since 1994.

They are due to face their Japanese rivals at Saitama Stadium on Wednesday.

The match has been awaited with some trepidation in Japan, as it pits two countries with long-standing rivalries that have little to do with sport.

Many Koreans are still bitter about Japan's often brutal colonisation of the Korean peninsula between 1910 and 1945, while relations between Pyongyang and Tokyo have been further strained by North Korea's recent admission that it kidnapped Japanese citizens decades ago, to help train spies.

Japan, which has no diplomatic ties with North Korea, is even considering economic sanctions against the isolated communist regime.

Tight security

With tensions high, about 3,500 police and security officials are being deployed ahead of Wednesday's match.

"Naturally, from arrival until they return to their country, we plan to strengthen security in every possible place," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference.

As part of these measures, the Japanese police are expected to place a buffer zone of empty seats in the stadium, to keep the two sets of fans apart.

But when the North Korean team arrived at Narita airport on Monday, they were given a warm reception.

Schoolgirls, some wearing traditional Korean dress, handed bouquets to the players.

Most of them are thought to be from families of pro-North Korean residents living in Japan.

North Korean coach Yun Jong-su said on Monday that he viewed his team as being ready to take on Japan.

"The players are in good shape," he told the Associated Press news agency. "We've had a lot of training over the past few weeks, and are eager to show what we can do against Japan."

Japan and North Korea are in Group B, along with Bahrain and Iran. South Korea, the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists, are in Group A with Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait.

The top two teams in each of the two Asian groups will qualify automatically for next year's World Cup in Germany.