Aloof N. Koreans a mystery

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― The coach of the North Korean women’s soccer team sat in his chair and placed on the table a black half-inch thick notebook with the word “COACH” ― in English in huge, gray letters ― printed on the front. Beside him sat a man who identified himself as a team manager and also serves as translator, his small tan notebook and pen at the ready.

Time for questions.

“Do your players have any special motivation when playing against the United States, whether because they’re ranked as the best team in the world, or because of the adversarial relationship between the two countries?”

The team manager leaned toward the coach. Mumbles were exchanged. Back came the answer.

“We believe in our players’ mental power,” said the team manager, Choe Nam-hyok.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all,” Choe said.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” said the reporter.

Choe stared sternly at the reporter and didn’t respond.

In an ever-connected sports world in which players, coaches and reporters from all nations mix freely, North Korea remains a mystery, erecting a proverbial wall that leaves others curious, fascinated and sometimes frustrated. Nowhere is it more obvious than at the Olympics.

“From, like, a humane level, I want to know what their lives are like,” U.S. soccer forward Abby Wambach said. “And what they do for fun.”

The U.S. and North Korean women’s teams are in the same group at the London Games and have shared the same hotels in Glasgow and Manchester for more than a week. The Korean players would often avoid eye contact when there was a similar arrangement at last year’s World Cup in Germany, but this time they are somewhat more engaging when there are encounters in the hallways.

“Compared to last year, they seem a lot happier,” U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe said. “It seems like they’re actually enjoying themselves this time, so it’s nice to see. They are smiling more. If you lock onto their stare long enough, they’ll give you one back.”

“You’ve got to be really getting into it, though,” Rapinoe added, laughing. “You’ve got to be asking for it.”

The Korean players and staff liked to hang out in the common room in Glasgow, where there were table tennis and pool tables. U.S. midfielder Tobin Heath and reserve player Meghan Klingenberg stumbled upon a game of table tennis with Korean and French players and were invited to join in ― although neither side understood what the other was saying.

“Everyone just seemed to be laughing a lot,” Heath said, “and just seemed to be enjoying the time together. It was a special moment.”

But, otherwise, the teams’ off-the-field routines have little in common. The Americans spend their free time shopping, sightseeing and eating out. The Koreans stay cloistered in their hotel. Asked why his players don’t get out and about, coach Sin Ui-gun ― through the interpreter ― gave three reasons: The training schedule is too busy, it rained too much in Glasgow, and the players like staying in the hotel.

The Americans couldn’t help but think about the disparity as they traveled from Glasgow to Manchester on Sunday.

“A few of us were talking about the bus ride here ― what are the North Koreans doing on their bus?” Wambach said. “Honestly, do they have computers? Are they watching television shows like we are? What are they doing to be, like, normal? Sure, those questions cross our minds.”

And it’s nearly impossible to get answers. At the coach’s first news conference in Glasgow, a FIFA spokesman said North Korean players would be made available for interviews. Afterward, the team manager said the players would be off-limits.

“Our players are not accustomed to interviews,” Choe said.

“Don’t you trust your players?” he was asked.

“It’s not a matter of trust or mistrust,” he answered.

The players are required to walk past reporters after games, but they don’t stop to talk. They were still in uniform when they left the stadium after their opening game against Colombia, not even bothering to shower. That was the game that started an hour late because organizers mistakenly displayed a South Korean flag on the video screen, getting the North Koreans so upset that they refused to take the field until they received an apology.