With joining a first-division South Korean club, North Korean footballer Jong Tae-se said Tuesday he’d like to act as an “ambassador” for inter-Korean sporting exchange.

Jong, who last week agreed to terms set by the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K League Classic, arrived in South Korea Tuesday.

After undergoing medical tests, he will be officially introduced as Suwon’s newest member on Thursday.

The 28-year-old forward left 1. FC Koln in the second-division German league to become the fourth North Korean to play pro football in South Korea.

Born in Japan to a South Korean father and a North Korean mother, Jong attended pro-North Korean schools there and has said in previous interviews that he considers himself North Korean.

Jong said Tuesday he arrived at Incheon International Airport with a single-entry South Korean passport, and tried to downplay the significance of his holding of the document.

“While I am playing here, I will be (South Korean),” Jong said.

“But it doesn’t really mean much because Korea is one anyway.”

Jong said he’d like to assume roles off the playing field.

“Playing in South Korea means as much to me as representing North Korea internationally,” he said. “While I am here, I’d be pleased to serve as an ambassador for (exchange between) the South and the North.”

On the pitch, Jong said his goal is to win his first championship and establish himself as a starting striker on his new team.

“My goal is to win the championship,” Jong said. “I’ve never won a title as a player and I would like win one with Suwon.”

Jong had first expressed interest in the top South Korean league in November last year. Officials of Suwon and another K League Classic club, Ulsan Hyundai Tigers, said Jong’s agent contacted them with an eye on playing in the 2013 season.

Suwon was close to acquiring Jong last month at around 200,000 euros (278 million won) for the transfer fee, but then Daejeon Citizen, a third K League Classic team, stepped up and offered to pay more money to bring the North Korean star on board.

Jong insisted he was only interested in playing for Suwon, which upped the transfer fee to 300,000 euros to finalize the move.

A perennial contender, Suwon has won four K League Classic titles and three FA Cups since the team was founded in 1995. Based in a passionate football city just south of Seoul, Suwon consistently ranks among the league’s biggest draws. The team ranked second, just behind FC Seoul, in home attendance last year with 445,820 fans in 22 games at Suwon World Cup Stadium.

Jong said Tuesday he knew Suwon was a team with “tradition” and An Yong-hak, his former teammate on the North Korean national squad who played for Suwon from 2008 to 2009, also advised him to sign with club.

“An told me Suwon was a big franchise with a large, enthusiastic fanbase,” Jong said. “He said it would be a great place to play football.”

Last season, Suwon finished fourth among 16 first-division clubs last season, 23 points behind the champion, FC Seoul. Suwon scored 61 goals to rank fifth in that category, with Dzenan Radoncic of Montenegro leading the way with 12 goals.

Jong said he’d like to help his new team improve its offense.

“I will try to score 15 goals in my first season here,” Jong said. “I am a forward, and I can’t play unless I score goals. If your striker can’t score 15 goals, then the team can’t win the championship.”

Jong also said he is looking forward to battling Radoncic and other teammates for playing time.

“Suwon is a deep club, and obviously, it won’t be easy to remain a starting player on a team like this,” Jong said. “But that’s what football players do. I am going to tackle this challenge.”

The forward made his professional debut with Kawasaki Frontale in Japan’s J-League in 2006. He represented North Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the country’s first appearance at the quadrennial event in 44 years. Later in 2010, Jong moved to VfL Bochum in Germany’s second division.

Jong has played on a South Korean pitch twice, first with the North Korean national team in 2009 and then with Kawaski in 2010.

He said he feels slightly different now that he will be playing professionally n a team here, though at the end of the day, he will “just be a football player.”

He joined Koln in January last year but went scoreless in five games as the club was relegated to the second division. In the current season, Jong failed to score in five games while struggling to get playing time.

He has been more prolific for North Korea in international play, having scored 15 goals in 28 games. (Yonahp News)