A North Korean youth soccer team has boycotted a match with its South Korean counterpart at an international soccer event in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.

The South Korean and North Korean squads were scheduled to face off on Tuesday. But the inter-Korean match was canceled due to the boycott after an emergency order from the North Korean government.

The North’s teams arrived in Kunming on January 23rd to participate in the international soccer event, which was organized by South Korea’s Incheon city government and the Incheon United professional soccer club.

A North Korean official said the boycott was in accordance with Pyongyang’s recently announced policy to halt all exchanges with South Korea under the administration of President Lee Myung-bak.

North Korea told the Incheon city government it could resume discussions on the inter-Korean soccer match after April, generating speculations that Pyongyang may adjust policies toward the South depending on the outcome of South Korea’s April general elections.