North Korea striker Jong Tae Se to play for South Korean club Suwon Samsung Bluewings

6℃

Victoria

5-Day Forecast

Tonight

7℃ / -℃

Chance of showers
Friday

8℃ / 16℃

A mix of sun and cloud
Saturday

- / 17℃

Chance of showers
Sunday

8℃ / 18℃

Chance of showers
Monday

10℃ / 19℃

Cloudy

HEADLINES:

The Associated Press / Times Colonist
January 3, 2013

FILE - In Jan. 19, 2011 file photo, North Korea's player Jong Tae Se, left, fights for the ball with Iraq's player Ahmed Ibrahim during their AFC Asian Cup group D soccer match at Al-Rayyan Stadium, in Doha, Qatar. South Korean club, The Suwon Samsung Bluewings said Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013 it has acquired North Korea striker Jong from Germany's Cologne. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

SEOUL, South Korea - A South Korean club says it has signed North Korea striker Jong Tae Se from Cologne.

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings say they have agreed to pay the German club €300,000 ($394,000) for Jong, but declined to say how much they will pay the 27-year-old forward who played for North Korea at the 2010 World Cup.

Bluewings official Lee Ho-seung says Jong had sought the transfer and the negotiations lasted several months.

Jong was born and raised in Japan, but holds a North Korean passport. Jong will become the fourth such player to join South Korea's K-League, according to league officials.

He began his professional career with Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale in 2006 before signing with German second-division club VfL Bochum in 2010 and joining Cologne last year.