INTER-KOREAN SOCCER MATCH MEDIA BLACKOUT

[Anchor Lead]

Today, the men's national football teams of the two Koreas will face off in a qualifier for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. However, the inter-Korean match will not be broadcast live in South Korea, to the disappointment of many football fans across the nation. KBS and two other major South Korean broadcasters sought to air it live, but according to a unification ministry official on Tuesday morning, North Korea had only agreed to provide South Korea with a recorded video of the match

[Pkg]

​Gathering at Beijing Airport for a flight to Pyongyang, the South Korean football players look tense. Wearing a cap, the team's captain Son Heung-min enters the departure area in silence. Ahead of their first-ever game in North Korea, the players, dressed in uniforms adorned with the South Korean national flag, expressed strong determination to win. But there will be no live broadcast of the inter-Korean match, which is being held in Pyongyang for the first time in nearly 30 years. KBS and two other major South Korean broadcasters tried through multiple channels to air the game live in the South. However, they have not yet received a response from the North.

[Soundbite] LEE KI-MUN(KBS SPORTS BUREAU DIRECTOR) : "For now, there will be no live broadcast of the inter-Korean game, a big, attention-grabbing sporting event, despite our best efforts up until the last minute to achieve it in order to guarantee the viewers' right."

With a plan to dispatch a broadcasting team to Pyongyang, KBS has been preparing to air the match live since it was decide in August that the North Korean capital would host the World Cup qualifier. However, the situation changed drastically after inter-Korean working-level discussions on the broadcasting staff's visit to North Korea were suspended early last month in violation of the initial agreement. As an alternative, KBS proposed receiving international broadcasting signals from the North and relaying the match in Seoul. However, Pyongyang has also remained silent on this proposal. The Taegeuk warriors will play the away match without South Korean supporters and reporters on the scene.

[Soundbite] KIM MIN-JAE(NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM MEMBER (OCT. 14)) : "There have always been even a few South Korean fans supporting us in an away match. This is the first time we will hold an away game with no South Korean supporters. We will play a good game if we overcome this disadvantage."

They will hold the World Cup qualifier in a strictly controlled environment, as shown in the difficulty for South Korea to obtain a single photo of the team's arrival in Pyongyang. The Korea Football Association will convey scores and other details of the inter-Korean match through its officials who have been dispatched to Pyongyang.