But this time, both the public and the South Korean government are all in the 'let's isolate them more, they deserve it' mood. (Reuters) - North Korea has withdrawn its women’s soccer team from the final round of 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers being staged in South Korea in February, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has said. The East Asian Football Federation said Wednesday that North Korea informed it in mid-September that it won’t take part in the 2019 EAFF E-1 championship in the southeastern city of Busan. “Given that North Korea told us it won’t participate in the event for broad, complex reasons, we believe North Korea’s football association wasn’t able to perfectly handle the matter by itself, so we don’t plan to impose punitive measures on it,” Park Yong Soo, the EAFF general secretary, said. North Korea has withdrawn its women’s soccer team from the final round of 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers being staged in South Korea in February, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has said. Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. For all the latest Sports News, download Indian Express App. The development is yet another sign of deteriorating sporting ties between the two Koreas amid lack of progress in a broader global diplomacy on North Korea’s nuclear program. SB Nation is the largest independent sports media brand, consisting of SBNation.com, MMAFighting.com and over 300 fan-centric team communities. The Indian Express is now on Telegram. North Korea were drawn in Group A alongside hosts South Korea, Vietnam and Myanmar. There was no live broadcast of the match, which ended in a scoreless draw. South Korea’s soccer association later sought a sanction for North Korea, sending a letter to the Asian Football Confederation and arguing that North Korea failed to uphold rules requiring host nations to grant visas and entries for traveling supporters and media without discrimination. Featured on FS2 — one of the few soccer matches on TV in the U.S. on a day dominated by college football — the Americans were routed by North Korea 3-0 in their second Group C match in Uruguay. But we won with strong belief that our people (in the North) are waiting for good news," said North's coach Kim Kwang-min at a press conference. With these changes, South Korea was able to finish in fourth place at the 1995 AFC Women's Championship in Malaysia. North Korea won the AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2001 (scoring 51 goals in 6 matches, a standing record), 2003, and 2008. North Korea is barred by FIFA from the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada after five of their players tested positive for steroids in the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany. Korean Football Association officials said North Korea gave no reason for deciding not to send a women’s team. The game was held in hot humid weather in Seoul and was in favor of a strong North Korean team … The AFC said on Tuesday the North had sent a letter informing it of its withdrawal from the tournament and that global governing body FIFA was also aware of the decision. There are some intriguing teams that would provide the USMNT and fans with unfamiliar matchups. The East Asian Football Federation said Wednesday that North Korea informed it in mid-September that it won’t take part in the 2019 EAFF E-1 championship in the southeastern city of Busan.