October 30, 2019 11:15
North Korea will not participate in the E-1 Football Championship to be held in Busan in December.
The Korea Football Association said on Monday that the North decided to pull out of the women's football tournament organized by the East Asian Football Federation and to be held in Busan between Dec. 12 and 18, despite the South's continuous persuasion.
The football tournament features men's and women's teams from four East Asian countries. The host and the two highest-ranked countries qualify automatically, and the fourth country is determined through a qualifying round.
In the women's tournament, North Korea (9th), Japan (10th) and South Korea (20th) obtained berths, while China (16th) made it after defeating Taiwan (40th) in the qualifying round. Taiwan will take the North's spot.
The men's tournament features Japan (28th), South Korea (39th), China (69th) and Hong Kong (130th).
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