North Korea's Jong Tae-Se is "the People's Rooney"

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - From behind closed doors, tight lips, and heavy-handed rule, a soccer star may be emerging.

His name is Jong Tae-Se and, other than his nation's infamous leader Kim Jong II, he could become the world's most recognizable North Korean. Despite constant accusation that he is not North Korean enough - he was born and raised in Japan though he isn't Japanese; his mother is South Korean yet he plays for North Korea; he holds a North Korean passport yet has never lived there - Jong is a couple of goals from delivering to the world a North Korean sports star.

Essentially, Jong straddles three countries: North Korea, South Korea, and Japan.

He does this fashionably.

He is his country's 26-year-old striker, "the People's Rooney" (an allusion to England's Wayne Rooney), a young man who speaks his mind and plays to score. He keeps a blog, listens to rap, drives a silver Hummer, and wants to play in the English Premier League.

This tournament is Jong's chance.

He travels with a Sony PlayStation, an iPhone, and a laptop, which is considered curious among his teammates, who are from an isolated country with one state-run TV channel. But Jong also endures consistent criticism for being too Western in dress and thought, for being quite unlike a North Korean.

In about 24 hours, Jong will either be the talk of this World Cup, or just another forward for just another overwhelmed team.

North Korea is the World Cup's - and the world's - great unknown. The country has been as secretive about its national team's World Cup training as about its weapons buildup at home.

But on Tuesday, Korea DPR - North Korea here - won't be able to hide inside its four-star Johannesburg hotel, or behind the walls of its training ground, inside which no foreign journalist was allowed for the team's first four training sessions.

Because on Tuesday night, North Korea plays the world's most visible soccer nation: Brazil.

Little is known about North Korea's on-field potential; of all World Cup teams, it holds the lowest ranking.

"I only watched half of a warm-up match they played," Brazil's Ramirez told reporters Sunday. "We are still waiting for the Brazilian coaches to give us more information about them."

It has been 44 years since North Korea played in a World Cup. The country made a surprising run to the quarterfinals in 1966, beating Italy.

"Nobody talks about them, but they play good football and physically are very fit," said Sven-Goran Eriksson, head coach of Ivory Coast.