Jong Tae-Se - International Career

International Career

Jong's first international appearance was on 19 June 2007, during a 2008 East Asian Football Championship qualifier match against Mongolia and he scored his first international goal in that game. He went on to score a total of four goals which Korea DPR won the match 7–0. Jong also played at the 2008 East Asian Football Championship and scored two goals in three matches for Korea DPR, receiving top scorer honors along with Park Chu-Young, Yeom Ki-Hun and Koji Yamase. Jong is known for crying when the North Korean national anthem is played before a match, most notably when Korea DPR played their first game of the 2010 World Cup against Brazil.

Jong also played at 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification in Asia and contributed to secure a World Cup berth, the first in 44 years, for the Korea DPR national team. Jong played in Korea DPR's first game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, against Brazil, and set up for Ji Yun-Nam to score the Koreans' goal in a 2–1 defeat.