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SINGAPORE: Wide-eyed, apprehensive and eager, the North Korean football team were the first athletes to arrive in Singapore for the inaugural Asian Youth Games from June 29-July 7, when their China Airlines flight touched down at Changi Airport's Terminal 1 at 9.40pm on Wednesday night.
They reached the baggage claim area at 10.17pm.
The 17-man squad were accompanied by five officials and all but team manager Cho Won Chol were tight-lipped.
Even then, Cho only spoke very briefly.
He said: "This is the first time in Singapore for all of them, and for most of them this is the first time out of the country."
The team from the reclusive communist country were welcomed by North Korea's ambassador to Singapore, Song Jing, one other official from the embassy, local officials and Games' volunteers, as well as a scrum of local media who chased the team across the arrival hall into the bus depot, drawing stares from curious onlookers who whipped out their mobile phones and snapped away.
Song Jing turned down requests for photographs, and said: "I'm just an employee of the embassy and I'm here to receive my boys."
The North Korean footballers are the first of an estimated 1,100 athletes aged between 14 and 17, along with 700 officials, to fly into Singapore ahead of the first Asian Youth Games.
The Games will see athletes from 45 National Olympic Councils across Asia compete in nine sports – aquatics (swimming and diving), shooting, sailing, 3-on-3 basketball, table tennis, bowling, beach volleyball, athletics and football.
Sporting similar crew cuts and wearing blue jackets with their country's flag on their chests, the Korean under-15 boys team gave little away most of the time, only breaking into sheepish smiles on a couple of occasions as photographers moved in for close-ups.
There will be 14 teams, including hosts Singapore, doing battle in the football competition, after Kuwait withdrew citing school commitments for their boys.
The competition will kick off on Saturday with the Koreans taking on Thailand at Victoria Junior College.
As hosts, the Singapore team are automatically in the draw for the final group stage of the competition which will feature eight nations. The other 13 nations will play in a preliminary group stage, vying for the seven remaining spots.
The North Koreans wore the look of serious contenders on Wednesday night, and team manager Cho seemed to confirm it just before boarding the bus bound for the Games Village at Swissotel the Stamford.
He said: "The boys are very excited, but also very tired. Later please, we need to rest." - TODAY
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