Tight security for N. Korea match

Tight security for N. Korea match

TOKYO: Japan will double security measures for a soccer game against political nemesis North Korea on the outskirts of Tokyo next month in the Asian final qualifying round for the 2006 World Cup.

"We plan to spend more than double the expenses that we usually use for an international game. We need to take stricter precautions than we did during the World Cup," said Japan Football Association president Saburo Kawabuchi.

During the 2002 World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, some 4,000 policemen were mobilized to the Saitama stadium just north of Tokyo.

Some 5,000 Koreans are expected at the stadium on Feb. 9 for the match in a "group of death" which also includes Iran and Bahrain. The two countries are slated to play the return leg in Pyongyang on June 8. --AFP