S. Korea, Japan agree to resume annual football friendlies

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's football governing body said Wednesday
it has agreed to accept Japan's recent proposal to resume annual friendly matches
this year for the first time since 1991.
The Korean Football Association (KFA) said its decision came after the Japan
Football Association (JFA) on Tuesday proposed staging bilateral friendly matches
alternatively in Seoul and Tokyo.
The JFA suggested the first one be held in Tokyo around October and the second
match sometime next year in Seoul, according to KFA officials. The JFA added that
the advance of the two countries to the 2010 World Cup finals should be a
prerequisite for the resumption of the regular two-way competition.
South Korea's national team is marking the top position in the second group of
the Asian qualifying round, followed by North Korea by one point. Japan,
meanwhile, is the runner-up at the first group after Australia. The top two teams
in each group are to directly advance to the World Cup in South Africa.
Former KFA president Chung Mong-joon and his Japanese counterpart Motoaki Inukai
had informal discussions on restarting the friendlies between the two countries
during their meeting in Seoul last September, according to the KFA officials.
The neighboring countries had held regular matches between 1972 and 1991. South
Korea defeated its rival 10 times in 15 games, with Japan downing South Korea
only three times. The remaining two games were draws.
brk@yna.co.kr
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