The renewed dispute undermines Seoul’s efforts to restore trilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia amid rising threats from North Korea.

THIS is the bizarre moment North Korean players opted to PUNCH their opponents instead of shaking their hands. The Japanese FA has reportedly asked Fifa to intervene after the strange scenes ahead

The China Security Report 2026, released by the National Institute for Defence Studies (NIDS) in Tokyo, argued that the strategic partnership among the three countries is becoming increasingly assertive, though marked by internal imbalances.

North Korea and Japan met for an U17 World Cup match in Qatar this week, with the two sides skipping the usual handshakes during their pre-match greetings in incredibly strange scenes

Where to watch the World Cup U17 match online between North Korea U17 and Japan U17, including live streams, TV channels, kick-off time and more.

Japan scored all five of their spot-kicks in the shootout, but North Korean Han Il-Bok, who came on as an injury-time substitute for the shootout, blasted his penalty over the bar and sealed Japan's spot in the quarter-finals for them, where they will now take on Australia.

Get real-time updates on North Korea vs Japan, minute by minute of the match, score, how to watch, stream information, and latest updates of the 2025 U-17 World Cup Round of 16 with VAVEL. The game will start at 10:15 AM ET on Tuesday,

This is the bizarre moment North Korean players opted to punch their opponents instead of shaking their hands.