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S.Korea approves KFA chief’s trip to North
AFP, SEOUL: South Korea on Wednesday gave the green light for its football chief to visit North Korea this week, despite a rise in tensions over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear programmes. The unification ministry said Chung Mong-Gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, and four other association officials would be allowed to make a four-day visit to Pyongyang starting Friday.
The ministry, which handles relations with the North, must by law approve all cross-border trips. Chung is scheduled to attend a meeting of the East Asian Football Federation executive committee in Pyongyang on Saturday, it said. He also plans to hold talks with North Korean officials on possible inter-Korean football friendlies, a government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The two nations, which remain technically at war, played their last in 2005. Political tensions have risen this week after the North hinted at a possible rocket launch next month and confirmed the restarting of a nuclear reactor seen as its main source of weapons-grade plutonium. The North insists its rocket launches are intended to put peaceful satellites into orbit, while the United States and its allies see them as disguised ballistic missile tests.

Wickmayer sails thru in Japan Open
AFP, TOKYO: A turbulent Japan Women’s Open ended the second round on Wednesday with fifth seed Johanna Larsson losing out. Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer defeated the Swede 7-5, 6-3, while Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic eliminated Japanese hopeful Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. Third seed Madison Brengle and sixth seed Christina McHale, both American, survived.
On Tuesday, the WTA International event in Tokyo saw top seed Carla Suarez Navarro suffer a first-round exit as she was beaten 4-6, 4-6 by the world’s 85th ranked Kateryna Bondarenko from Ukraine.

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S.Korea approves KFA chiefs trip to North AFP, SEOUL: South Korea on Wednesday gave the green light for its football chief to visit North Korea this week, despite a rise in tensions over Pyongyangs missile and nuclear programmes. The unification ministry said Chung Mong-Gyu, president of the Korea Football Association, and four other association officials would be allowed to make a four-day visit to Pyongyang starting Friday. The ministry, which handles relations with the North, must by law approve all cross-border trips. Chung is scheduled to attend a meeting of the East Asian Football Federation executive committee in Pyongyang on Saturday, it said. He also plans to hold talks with North Korean officials on possible inter-Korean football friendlies, a government official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The two nations, which remain technically at war, played their last in 2005. Political tensions have risen this week after the North hinted at a possible rocket launch next month and confirmed the restarting of a nuclear reactor seen as its main source of weapons-grade plutonium. The North insists its rocket launches are intended to put peaceful satellites into orbit, while the United States and its allies see them as disguised ballistic missile tests. Wickmayer sails thru in Japan Open AFP, TOKYO: A turbulent Japan Womens Open ended the second round on Wednesday with fifth seed Johanna Larsson losing out. Belgiums Yanina Wickmayer defeated the Swede 7-5, 6-3, while Croatian Ajla Tomljanovic eliminated Japanese hopeful Kimiko Date-Krumm 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. Third seed Madison Brengle and sixth seed Christina McHale, both American, survived. On Tuesday, the WTA International event in Tokyo saw top seed Carla Suarez Navarro suffer a first-round exit as she was beaten 4-6, 4-6 by the worlds 85th ranked Kateryna Bondarenko from Ukraine.