LONDON -- South Korea and North Korea will face each other in the opening round of men's table tennis team competition at the upcoming London Olympics.

The Koreas were pitted against each other at a drawing Wednesday. The games start Friday and their first-round match is set for Aug. 3.

The team competition was adopted for the first time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but North Korea didn't take part in that discipline. South Korea took bronze.

Though the South Korean players have higher rankings on paper, their head coach, Yoo Nam-kyu, said they shouldn't take their opponents lightly.

South Korea features three top-20-ranked players, including 2004 Olympic singles champion Ryu Seung-min. Joo Sae-hyuk is the highest-ranked player at No. 10, and Oh Sang-eun is 11th.

For North Korea, Jang Song-man is the top-ranked member at No. 59, with Kim Hyok-bong at 77th and Kim Song-nam at 181st.

But Kim Hyok-bong held his ground against Ryu during the Asian Olympic qualification tournament in April before falling 4-3.

Jang is a pesky, defensive-minded player who can wear out opponents' patience. Kim Song-nam is a rookie but South Korean coaches believe he is on par with South Korean national team reserves.

Yoo said the political friction between the Koreas adds to the tense air surrounding the matchup.

"The first round is always pressure packed, and taking on North Korea from the start doesn't make it any easier," Yoo said. "We have a better team, but the North Koreans are well-trained athletes with good fundamentals."

Yoo predicted that Kim Hyok-bong will be the ace of the North Korean team, and Jang could also rattle the South Koreans with his surprise attacks.

"Oh and Joo should take their matches early against defensive players," Yoo said. "This is the Olympics. We can't afford to take anyone lightly."

Team event matches are played in a best-of-five format. The first two games are singles, the third is doubles and the final two are singles. Each team carries three players, and the team to claim three matches first will be declared the winner. (Yonhap News)