Embarrassing error at Asian Games as North Korea's anthem played for South Korea

The Asian Games in Japan witnessed an embarrassing mistake as the organizers played the national anthem of North Korea instead of South Korea's anthem before the South Korean hockey team's match against Bangladesh on Friday.

A mix-up led to discontent among the South Korean delegation as players lined up to listen to their national anthem, only to discover that the anthem being played was North Korea's, causing looks of bewilderment among the players.

According to the South Korean news agency "Yonhap", the organizers rectified the mistake later, playing the anthem of Bangladesh, followed by the anthem of South Korea, while the stadium announcer apologized for the incident. However, the referee asked the players of both teams to shake hands and prepare to start the match before the South Korean anthem had finished.

South Korea secured a significant 5-0 victory over Bangladesh, but the incident angered head coach Min Tae-suk, who described it as a serious problem due to the high political sensitivity between the Koreas, which have technically been at war since the end of the Korean War in 1953 with a ceasefire agreement rather than a peace treaty.