Kuwait, who needed a win to revive their campaign, threatened in the sixth minute when Redha Hani's headed pass found Sami Al Sanea, who sent his effort over the bar.

Korea Republic responded in style four minutes later after Oh rose above Hasan Hamdan to nod home Hwang In-beom’s cross.

Kuwait fell further behind when Son was brought down inside the box by Sami Al Sanea with the Korea Republic captain sending Kuwait keeper Khaled Al Rashidi the wrong way with his spot-kick in the 19th minute.

A lapse in concentration in the 27th minute almost cost Kuwait again when Salman Al Awadhi’s errant pass was intercepted by Lee Myung-jae who set up Son, whose long range effort just sailed past the right post.

Kuwait had a half chance in the 34th minute with Eid Al Rashedi gaining possession off Lee Myung-jae’s headed clearance, only to pull his long range effort just side off the right post. 

Son was in the thick of the action again in the 40th minute, setting up Hwang In-Beom to deliver a cross to Lee Jae-sung, only for the midfielder to head the ball against the crossbar.

Korea Republic almost extended their lead a minute into the restart, with Son creating space for Lee Jae-sung down the left before cutting the ball back to Lee Kang-in, who pulled his effort just wide.

Kuwait, however, reduced the deficit against the run of play at the hour mark when Youssef Majed’s cross split open the Korea Republic defence to find Mohammad, who finished with an exquisite shot past keeper Jo Hyeon-woo.

Korea Republic responded by upping their tempo and Al Rashidi had to be on his toes to deny Lee Kang-in’s effort from inside the box in the 67th minute but the Kuwaiti custodian had no answer six minutes later after Hwang In-beom fed a through ball to Bae to slot home and seal the points.

Korea Republic, seeking an 11th consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup, meet Palestine on Matchday Five, while Kuwait will have to defeat Jordan if they are to keep their hopes alive.