After a disaster World Cup, the team have continued to spiral, with tensions high between young and older players and the captain’s standing in question

Son Heung-min and Cristiano Ronaldo are iconic No 7s, Premier League legends and international record-breakers. Now there is a surprising danger of them having something else in common: being a divisive presence in their national teams.

On 21 October, during a parliamentary committee meeting, politician Jeong Yeon-wook put a question to acting Korea Football Association (KFA) president Lee Yong-soo, that took a story out of the sports pages and into the national conversation. “It is said that recently, within the national team squad, players have been calling him not by his name but as ‘No 7’ or ‘that person’. Do you know who that is?” Lee then replied, “Are you referring to Son Heung-min?” Jeong went on: “So it appears to be true. … It has also been revealed that the national team’s leadership is causing discord and has broken down overall.” Lee declined to comment.

A row over a landmine blast and a threat to resume loudspeaker broadcasts has highlighted Kim Jong-un’s military ambitions

Last week North Korea hit the headlines with a vow to fire up its loudspeaker systems to blare propaganda into the South, but the latest dispute comes against a backdrop of militarisation of the border by Kim Jong-un that has been years in the making.

Since April 2024, North Korea has been working on building a permanent fortified border through the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that divides the two sides, work that has led to a mine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers and plunged ties to new lows.