Malaysia has banned its citizens from traveling to North Korea as the country faces increasing diplomatic pressure over its weapons programs.
Malaysia’s foreign ministry announced the ban in a statement on Thursday and said it would last until further notice.
The blockage came a day after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had confirmed that the match, originally scheduled for March, would finally go ahead on October 5 after twice being postponed.
The Football Association of Malaysia said it will issue an update later today when asked if the team would be allowed to fly to Pyongyang despite the ban.
Malaysian officials blamed North Korea’s missile tests and related developments as the reason it had barred its players from the rogue state.
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Since July, North Korea has launched its first intercontinental ballistic missiles, has flown midrange missiles over Japan into the Pacific and has detonated its sixth nuclear test.
It has caused a furore among the international community – including Malaysia – one of its few remaining diplomatic partners in the world.
North Korea has been targeted in recent months by stricter sanctions and increasing diplomatic pressure, with Kuwait and Mexico expelling its envoys in recent weeks.
The football match, originally scheduled for March 28, was postponed during a furious diplomatic row over the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, half-brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in Malaysia in February.
The killing sparked a diplomatic crisis which saw both countries banning each other’s citizens from leaving, and withdrawing their ambassadors.
Tensions had since cooled.
But South Korea still believes that the North masterminded the murder, which was carried out using a towel soaked with nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The president of the Football Association of Malaysia, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, also raised concerns earlier this year about fears his players could be deliberately poisoned if their qualifier went ahead in Pyongyang.
It was thought that his concerns were smoothed out during a crunch meeting between MR Ismail and Kim Yu-Song a North Korean envoy in Malaysia on Tuesday.
They discussed the safety of players and team officials, according to a statement on Facebook, accompanied by a picture of the men smiling and shaking hands.
It also said that mr Ismail – the crown prince of the southern state of Johor – would be allowed to travel directly through North Korea’s airspace anytime he wants to visit the nuclear-armed nation.
The statement said: ”It is the highest honour as any other world leader will need to stop by in Beijing beforehand.”
But the travel ban has put this in jeopardy.
Two women from Vietnam and Indonesia have been charged in the murder of Kim’s half-brother and will appear in court on October 2.