• Posted by Admin
• Date : 01 Jul 2023

By Gawon Bae and Andrew McNicol, CNN (CNN) In 2017, Han Kwang Song became the first North Korean to score a goal in one of Europes five major soccer leagues and even made a shock transfer to Italian giant Juventus in 2019, then later to Qatars Al-Duhail. But his promising career was cut short when he disappeared from the world soccer stage in 2020, leaving fans with a question: Where is that North Korean player? The Little North Korean, as an Italian commentator once described him, Han was not especially tall, but with his scorching pace, strong tackling and lethal heading in front of goal was still capable of competing among Europes best. The young striker from Pyongyang quickly drew attention from soccer pundits and fans not just for his unique background, but for his technical prowess as well. His physique wasnt big, but he was quick with his positioning and could score headers well, South Korean football commentator Hahn June-hea told CNN Sport. Han was praised back home as a promising player who drew the attention of the European football world, according to North Koreas propaganda media Sogwang . But the good times didnt last after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) imposed sanctions against North Korea for conducting its sixth nuclear test in 2017. The sanctions ordered member states to repatriate all North Korean nationals working in their respective jurisdictions amid concerns that foreign money was being transferred to support Kim Jong Uns nuclear and weapons programs. The UNSC resolution set the end of 2019 as the deadline for repatriation. But the Covid-19 pandemic led to North Korea fully sealing its borders, making it impossible for Han and fellow repatriated North Korean nationals to return home. He had been due to fly out of Qatar in 2021 in accordance with the UN sanctions and has since vanished. A CNN investigation into his story has shed new light on his disappearance. Pyongyang Han was born in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in 1998. Little is known about his life aside from his enrolment in the prestigious Pyongyang International Football School founded in accordance with Kim Jong Uns well-known love of sports. When Kim took the reins of the regime in 2012, sport became a rare window into a country that is often hidden from the rest of the world. The North Korean leader used sports as an exercise in soft power, investing in elite sport to promote his country internationally and public sport to enhance defense and labor power, according to South Koreas unification ministry report . North Korea began to step up participation in major international sporting events, including the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2018 Winter Olympics hosted by South Korea which technically remains at war with its northern neighbor. At PyeongChang 2018, however, the two nations even marched together under the Korean Unification Flag during the Opening Ceremony and participated as a unified Korean team in womens ice hockey. The opening of North Korea through sport seemed like a door that would not be closed any time soon. All sports are popular. They followed the Olympics and soccer, former North Korean mens soccer national team head coach Jrn Andersen told CNN Sport, adding that he had limited contact with the North Korean public during his time in Pyongyang between 2016 and 2018. There were some local TV channels never live games which would sometimes show European soccer in the week. Maybe one from the Bundesliga [in Germany], one from [Spains] La Liga, one from Italy, England I think many watched, Andersen explained of the sporting events that air on North Korean state broadcaster KCTV almost every day. may be part of a propaganda campaign aimed at rebranding the countrys international image . I like Han. His skills are solid and he is very good at dribbling, a Pyongyang citizen can be seen saying in Korean. Han became the biggest success story from Kims efforts to turn the country into a sports powerhouse when he was recruited by Italian youth scouting center ISM Academy via its Talent Identification Program . In 2015, the then ambitious teenager packed his bags for its base in Perugia the capital of Italys central Umbria region, located about 105 miles north of Rome alongside fellow North Korean prospect Choe Song Hyok. Move to Europe At the ISM Academy, the pair joined young footballers from across the globe, sharing the same dream of making it through the competitive pathway to the professional game in one of Europes top leagues. The academy proudly shows a photo of Han on its website as a player who reached their goal and entered the world of professional football. Also featured is Hans friend Choe, who went on to play for AC Perugia Calcio, which plays in Italys lower leagues. Han spent at least a year at the academy before a successful try-out with the youth team of Cagliari. The move put him on the map and gave him regional recognition. I remember my director Mario Berreta said we had a North Korean trying out and asked me to see if he was good enough, Cagliaris then-under-19 coach Max Canzi told CNN Sport. I was kind of upset because we had an important match that Saturday, Canzi said, recalling that he initially refused to see the player. He started training, and after 20 minutes, I looked at my assistant coach and said, Tell Mario he has to come out. We have a problem hes very good. Putting pen to paper, however, took longer than usual given what Canzi described as the bureaucratic problems and voices going around. Somebody in [the Italian] parliament even put out a question as to if it was the right thing to do because we [Italy] had an embargo against [signing contracts with] North Koreans, he said. But it turned out to be a worthwhile pursuit for Cagliari. The North Korean striker, who joined the clubs youth team under Canzi in March 2017, quickly proved his value by scoring in his very first youth match, earning him an immediate promotion to the first team in Serie A, according to Canzi. Han headed in his first top-flight goal the first time a North Korean player had scored in one of Europes five major leagues just a week after his professional debut on April 2, 2017. Han had arrived from North Korea not knowing how to speak English or Italian, but it didnt take him long to adapt to Western culture something forbidden in his homeland. At the beginning, it was not easy because he didnt know English or Italian. But he learned Italian quite fast, Canzi recalled to CNN Sport. Nicholas Pennington, a former Cagliari youth teammate, remembers Han as a very, very good player on the pitch and a bit shy but really nice guy off it. I was one of the first to stop and speak to him and help him to integrate. I would pick him up in the car a few times and he came to training with me, he told CNN Sport. Pennington recalled asking Han and Choe about North Korea multiple times. But they really didnt say any