NK nat`l soccer team member joins Hyundai

A member of the North Korean national soccer team arrived in Seoul last week to play in the South Korean professional soccer league.

Yang Kyu-Sa, 23, signed a contract last Saturday with the Hyundai Ulsan team that will pay him 36 million won over two years plus a 75 million bonus. Yang will receive an additional 25 million won if he plays in 10 or more games.

Born in Osaka, Yang is a fourth-generation Korean who now lives in Japan. After graduating from a school operated by the pro-Pyongyang Korean residents` association in Japan, he played for Verdi Kawasaki of Japan`s pro soccer league before moving to Hyundai.

Standing 181 cm and weighing 74 kg, Yang was chosen as a member of North Korea`s national team in January last year and scored three goals in six games in the regional preliminaries of the Asian Cup in March last year.

Yang signed an agreement on Oct. 19 stating that he would join Hyundai and has since undergone legal procedures demanded by the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Meanwhile, the Korea Pro Soccer Federation agreed that Yang would be treated as a local player instead of a foreign player. The federation recognized him as a Korean of the second generation living abroad.

Yang said in an interview upon his arrival here, ``Regardless of my nationality, I am a soccer player. I don`t care where I play, if I can play soccer.``

Joo Sung-Won swon@donga.com