North Korean leader blamed for Cup loss

SEOUL, June 23 (UPI) -- Some South Korean officials blame Kim Jong Il for his country's poor World Cup showing, after the coach said the North Korean leader directed team strategy.

Coach Kim Jong Hung claimed the leader "gives regular tactical advice during matches using mobile phones that are not visible to the naked eye," the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said Wednesday.

"Given the way the North Korean regime works, a football coach can't just mention Kim Jong Il's name and talk about him as he likes," a South Korean official said. "The invisible-mobile-phone part may be silly, but it's probably true that Kim Jong Il's orders are delivered to the coach."

After the team was routed by Portugal 7-0 Monday, one source said the team had not played in a way the North Korean coach wanted and that he must have been pressured from someone outside.

North Korea apparently had high hopes for the game, which it broadcast live for the first time in the country's history.

The atmosphere in the North is said to be subdued after the rout. Kim Sung-min, of Free North Korea Radio, said: "We contacted North Koreans, and they said that they feel let down and upset. There are people who said they were so upset that they drank themselves senseless and that they can never forgive the players."