South Korea's men's hockey team were left bewildered before their Asian Games match against Bangladesh on Friday when North Korea's national anthem was played instead of their own. The players, lined up at Green Stadium in Gifu, Japan, looked around in confusion as the wrong anthem rang out.

The stadium announcer quickly apologised: "We are really sorry, terribly sorry. National anthem for the Republic of Korea, we played a different song. I'm really sorry." Despite the mix-up, South Korea went on to win the match 5-0.

The North Korean anthem is banned in South Korea, along with other symbols of the wartime foes. The 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, meaning the two Koreas are still technically at war.

The Asian Games organising committee did not immediately comment on the anthem mix-up. South Korea has complained of several organisational problems at the games, including basketball players unhappy with the size of their rooms and transport issues disrupting preparations for the men's football team, the defending champions.

This incident adds to a series of logistical and protocol failures that have marred the early days of the competition, raising questions about the hosts' attention to detail.

Source: www.aljazeera.com