With 400 days to go before the 2002 World Cup, South Korea and Japan, which will co-host the event, have named its mascots.

The names... Ato for coach and Nik and Kaz for players... were announced in Seoul and Tokyo simultaneously Thursday morning. The names were chosen in a vote of about 980,000 soccer fans held over one month from February around the world.

Also on Thursday, a variety of events were held across the nation to mark the 400th day before the World Cup.

Meanwhile, the World Cup trophy will arrive in Seoul from Switzerland Friday for display at the Lotte Department Store in central Seoul. Also to go on display are soccer balls used in past World Cup games.