North Korea will not send players to an East Asian football tournament slated to be held in South Korea later this year. 

The Korea Football Association revealed on Tuesday that the North informed the East Asian Football Federation(EAFF) in September that it would skip the tournament, without giving a reason.

At a kickoff press conference in Seoul on Wednesday for the upcoming EAFF E-1 Football Championship, EAFF General Secretary Park Yong-soo said they have no plans to sanction the North for its withdrawal.

Park added the North Korean football federation may not have made the decision on its own under complex circumstances.

The women's tournament at the biennial championship set to be held from December tenth to the 18th in Busan, will now feature South Korea, China, Japan and Chinese Taipei.

This latest development comes just weeks after North Korea hosted South Korea in Pyongyang for a men's FIFA World Cup qualifier without spectators or media.