South Korea says FIFA approached on World Cup bid with North

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it was approached by FIFA about bidding along with North Korea for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said after a weekend meeting of soccer’s lawmakers that he had “been hearing” about the neighbors combining to bid.

South Korea soccer association general secretary Hong Myung-bo was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying “FIFA first approached us and talked about the joint bid.”

Hong added that “we’ve notified our government of this issue.”

Australia, Colombia, Japan and South Africa have already expressed interest in bidding for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The FIFA Council vote is due in March 2020.

The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. A combined bid for the 2032 Olympics is already being planned by the Koreas.