North Korean women to miss Japan tournament

Deepak Jain Tue, Jan 12 10 05:09 PM

North Korea women's team will not play in next month's regional championships in Japan despite receiving approval from Tokyo, the Japan Football Association (JFA) said on Tuesday.

A JFA spokeswoman could not comment on why North Korea was skipping the East Asian championships, which run from Feb. 6-14 in Tokyo, but did confirm they would be replaced by Taiwan.

Japan, China and South Korea will also participate in the women's competition, while Japan, China, South Korea and Hong Kong will compete in the men's competition as planned.

Japan imposed sanctions on North Korea, including a ban on almost all visits by its citizens, after the communist state carried out its first nuclear test in 2006.

Source: Web Search