“The victories of our women’s football players last year had a great impact not only on our people, but also on footballers in the country as well. Through this tournament, we hope to bring our people the same joy,” said Kim.

Only 17 but blessed with profound athleticism that belies his age, Kim has led by example in this free-flowing DPR Korea side.

Making his mark with an assist against Tajikistan, Kim outdid himself against Oman with a fantastic solo goal and an assist. He also found the net in the 6-0 victory over Indonesia.

But the striker admits he is still some way off his lofty standards.

“In the Qualifiers, I scored five goals. But maybe because my desire got ahead of me, I haven’t got to score more than two goals so far. Hopefully that will change soon.”

DPR Korea are currently the competition’s leading scorers with 12 goals, tied with Uzbekistan with the sides to face off in the semi-finals on Thursday.

DPR Korea have the second highest passing rate with 1,976 with Kim stating this is due to the team’s meticulous preparation in training and matches.

“Our coach places great emphasis on coordination during training and matches. We believe this is the reason our team have made a higher number of coordinated plays compared to other teams.”

Kim is also a visionary, envisioning a career in coaching when he nears the end of his career but there is some way to go for that.

For now, he is focused on Thursday’s semi-final.