PUTRAJAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin wants the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to gauge the safety level in Pyongyang for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers.
He said this is crucial in light of the strained diplomatic relationship between North Korea and Malaysia following the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of the regime's supreme leader Kim Jong-un, at klia2 on Feb 13.
"I will ask the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to get the AFC's views on this.
"If we can change the venue, we change the venue, because the safety of our football team is a priority, in view of current circumstances," he told reporters during a press conference on the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) programme today.
It was reported that the FAM would request to play matches against North Korea at a neutral venue only if the national team's safety is threatened.
Malaysia – in Group B with North Korea, Hong Kong and Lebanon – are scheduled to kick-off their campaign against North Korea at the Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang on March 28.