In this photo provided by the Korea Football Association, players from South Korea (in white) and North Korea (in red) acknowledge each other after playing to a scoreless draw in a World Cup qualifying match at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on Oct. 15, 2019. (Korea Football Association)
South Korea will wait for North Korea's final decision on whether to play a World Cup qualifier set to take place in the South next month, an official said Tuesday, after Asia's soccer governing body asked Pyongyang to reconsider its decision not to play the game.
Earlier, the South's Korea Football Association (KFA) said its North Korean counterpart, known as the DPR Korea Football Association, sent an official document to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) last Friday to declare its intent to drop out of the second round of the World Cup qualifiers, citing coronavirus concerns.
"As far as we are concerned, the AFC has asked North Korea to reconsider its decision," the unification ministry official said. "For now, we will wait until the AFC completes their internal process and notifies our government of the final decision."
The official said the ministry will continue to cooperate and provide support throughout the process.
The two Koreas belong to Group H in the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, along with Turkmenistan, Lebanon and Sri Lanka.
South Korea is scheduled to play against North Korea on June 7. (Yonhap)