The second of two upcoming Asian Group B World Cup qualifiers between Japan and North Korea will be played in Pyongyang as scheduled, the Japan Football Association said Monday.
The JFA said it received confirmation from the Asian Football Confederation that Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Stadium would remain the venue for the match on March 26, five days after the teams meet at Tokyo's National Stadium.
A women's Olympic football qualifier between the two countries was relocated from Pyongyang to Saudi Arabia at short notice late last month after the JFA raised several concerns with the AFC, including a lack of transparency from North Korea about match operations.
The AFC completed an inspection of the stadium in the North Korean capital by last Tuesday and determined there would be no problem holding the match there.
The Japanese and North Korean men's teams have played four previous matches in Pyongyang. The most recent was in November 2011, when the hosts won 1-0 during qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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