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CHONGQING, China, Feb 20, 2008 (AFP) - - North Korea held South Korea 1-1 in the East Asian championship here Wednesday as honours were shared ahead of their World Cup qualifying showdown next month.
South Korean striker Yeom Kim-Hun buried a 20-yard free-kick in the 20th minute but J-League player Jong Tae-Se, who also scored in North Korea's draw with Japan, equalised on 72 minutes.
The North Korean 'keeper denied the South a last-gasp winner when he punched away Lee Keun-Ho's stoppage-time shot.
It was the 10th inter-Korean clash since their first meeting at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, with South Korea winning five and losing only once.
"I'm not happy with the result because we missed chances," said Huh Jung-Moo, who did not call up three Premier League players including Manchester United striker Park Ji-Sung as the European season was in full swing.
Park Chu-Young, who scored twice in the 3-2 win over hosts China on Sunday, was sidelined with injury and "was something I really missed," Huh said.
North Korean coach Kim Jong-Hun, whose squad contains the strongest players available, said: "Now we know the South's style, advantage and disadvantage. It will be useful for the next qualifier."
The two Koreas, still officially at war, battled to a scoreless draw at their previous meeting in the 2005 East Asian championships and are set to clash in World Cup qualifying in Pyongyang on March 26.
But the fixture has been thrown into jeopardy after reports that North Korea would not let the South play its national anthem or display its flag at the match.
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