tokyo bear raise japan three north korean soccer players expect face boo home crowd match come less two weeks late north korean test missile splash sea japan byong jun kim song gi lee yong jick play club soccer league division side represent north korea take japan tokyo saturday final round east asian football championship sport contest hold world still edge north heighten alarm south korea japan unite state test fire intercontinental ballistic missile nov. 29 appear demonstrate increase range north korea test-fired missiles northern japanese island hokkaido twice early year threaten sink japan sea nuclear bomb unsurprisingly kim 29-year-old central defender hail hyogo prefecture western japan play club soccer machida zelvia tokyo expect hostile reception japanese supporters bring boo say kim boo actually get fire bring way really bother eager avenge one-nil loss first play japan north korea six years ago kim lee take soccer children attend pyongyang-affiliated school japan saw play north korean international path high level soccer think kid dream play north korea kim say big goal go world cup japanese nationality inherit parent place birth mean three players north korean descent consider foreigners ineligible play japan national team players status permanent residents japan throwback complex conflict relationship countries many koreans force move japan occupation korean peninsula world war two suffer discrimination descendants eligible become naturalize japanese citizens many loath would involve give korean nationality suffer perceive loss cultural identity 339,000 people special permanent resident status mostly korean taiwanese ancestry live japan last year government data show never think take japanese citizenship say kim soul 100 percent north korean lee 26-year-old osaka native play first match japan say sure fan would react note team expect boo play south korea receive applause instead complicate say kamatamare sanuki defender switch midfield north korea hope treat team play japan honest hope get boo regard political tensions say things might seem bad look news japan teammates also see good side north korea trip pyongyang school trip train camp also play first match japan say look forward play hometown tokyo expect good turnout ethnic korean fan say lot league friends japanese squad exchange text message look forward good match regardless international tensions soccer great team play fair square kind politics matter say 27-year-old roasso kumamoto forward want go represent country soccer player japan north korea last meet 2015 east asia football championship china north korea prevail 2-1. year men tournament also feature china south korea run dec. 9-16. women tournament comprise countries hold dec. 8-15. soccer bear japan play north korea shadow missile crisis