The matches in the two countries were among disclosures contained in a summary of bidders for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments written by FIFA’s technical panel and obtained yesterday by Bloomberg News.
The Korean peninsula has been divided since civil war ended in 1953 and tensions between the two nations grew this year after a torpedo attack on a South Korean warship killed 46 sailors. South Korea blamed North Korea for the attack.
According to Bloomberg, the summary also says that the US bid “lacks the government backing” required by FIFA, and Qatar’s effort is hampered by temperatures that can reach more than 46 degrees centigrade.
FIFA’s executive committee will announce its decision on the hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on December 2.
