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A FIFA World Cup qualifier between South Korea and North Korea plays out at the empty Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, Tuesday. Neither a live broadcast nor the entrance of foreign journalists based in Pyongyang ― let alone spectators ― was allowed for the high-profile match that came amid stalled inter-Korean relations. The BBC called the game "the world's strangest football derby." In the absence of reporters, what happened during the game and the final score were made public by text messages Asian Football Confederation (AFC) supervisors in the stadium sent to the Korea Football Association (KFA) in Seoul via AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The game ended in a 0-0 draw. Courtesy of KFA |
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Players compete for the ball. Courtesy of KFA |
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Lee Young-chul of North Korea passes the ball with a header. Courtesy of AFC |
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South and North Korean teams play in an empty stadium during their Asian Group H qualifying soccer match in Pyongyang on Tuesday. Courtesy of KFA |
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This was the first competitive men's football match between the two Koreas held in Pyongyang. Yevgeny Kravchenko/Russian Embassy in North Korea/TASS |