FOOTAGE OF BIZARRE INTER-KOREAN SOCCER

[Anchor Lead]

The video of the mysterious football match between South and North Korea has finally surfaced. Here's a look at the strangest game in football history.

[Pkg]

​The South Korean anthem echoes through Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang. South Korean football players look intensely focused as they gear up to play the first away game in Pyongyang in 29 years. The players fight fiercely, judging from the shouts from both teams reverberating around the empty stadium. The South Korean team, rattled by the North Koreans' rough plays, almost allowed a goal in the early part of the game. The South Korean players appeared flustered as North Korea's quick attack penetrated deep into the South Korean side.

[Soundbite] PAULO BENTO(COACH, S. KOREAN FOOTBALL TEAM) : "The game's flow wasn't smooth because the game was stopped every time there was a rough play."

The long-awaited score attempt went far off the goal post and the South Korean team failed to make a single goal in the first half.

[Soundbite] "Injury time is 1 minute."

The two teams received four warnings combined, a telling sign that the game was aggressive. However, the match ended in a zero-to-zero draw. The South Korean national football team had to walk away with just one point, maintaining first place in Group H. The strange away game in Pyongyang that had no spectators, no reporters, and no broadcasters ended with a long whistle from the referee. The South Korean team was under strict restrictions, surveillance, and faced consistently cold treatment.

[Soundbite] CHOI YOUNG-IL(VICE PRES., KOREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION) : "They never looked us in the eye even when we tried to talk to them and didn't answer our questions."

This all points to the current state of inter-Korean relations. North Korea clearly showed that they are not going to give any cause for improved bilateral ties. The South Korean Minister of Unification said that he feels responsible and expressed his deep disappointment.

[Soundbite] KIM YEON-CHUL(MINISTER OF UNIFICATION) : "I'm very disappointed that we couldn't live up to people's expectation."

His remark demonstrated how disappointed he is over the sorry state of inter-Korean relations. Frankly, Seoul-Pyongyang ties cannot be improved unless some progress is made in DPRK-US relations. However, Pyongyang has shown no sign of resuming talks with Washington since the working-level meeting in Stockholm failed to make significant progress. The South Korean government's concern mounts as its plan to improve relations with North Korea through the football match in Pyongyang failed to successfully pan out.