South Korea will face North Korea in the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

In a draw held at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, South Korea and North Korea were placed in Group H, along with Lebanon, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka.

The second round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers will begin September fifth and conclude June ninth next year. South Korea, led by head coach Paulo Bento, is scheduled to face North Korea on October 15.

A similar grouping situation occurred in 2010, but the inter-Korean matches were played at a neutral site in Shanghai.

However, sports diplomacy has been a key component of the current Moon Jae-in administration's peace initiative, raising expectations the two Koreas may play conventional home-and-away games.

[Photo : YONHAP News]