Soccer-North Korea take on South Korea in youth final

BANGKOK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Organisers will be hoping peace is maintained when South Korea take on North Korea in the politically charged final of the AFC's Under-16 championships in the Thai capital on Saturday. The two nations endure a tense relationship and are technically still at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, with meetings in sporting arenas routinely drawing problems. A 2008 World Cup qualifier for the men's teams had to be moved from North Korea to China after the North refused to fly the flag or play the anthem of the South before kick-off. A return qualifier a year later resulted in a win for South Korea amid accusations from the North that they had been poisoned by their opponents, who denied the claims. The North's participation in the ongoing Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, was also in doubt before a deal was reached following protracted negotiations, but the simmering tensions remain evident. On Friday, the South fired warning shots after a patrol boat from the North crossed a disputed maritime border to the west of the divided peninsula in the latest incident resulting in fire this year alone. On the field, South Korea will be favourites to win Saturday's final at the Rajamangala Stadium with Barcelona teenager Lee Seung-woo in flying form having scored five-times in four matches, making him a strong candidate for the player-of-the-tournament award. But while his skills, and in particular his brilliant individual goal against Japan in the quarter-finals where he dribbled past several opponents, have drawn widespread praise he has failed to wow the North's coaching team. "I did not go to the stadiums to see Korea Republic's matches, but I have watched videos," coach Yon Kwang-mu said. "Their player Lee Seung-woo is a good player, but I think compared to our strikers, they are at the same level... so we are not too worried about him." Both sides, and beaten semi-finalists Syria and Australia, have qualified for next year's FIFA under-17 World Cup in Chile. (Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)