North Korean ace wanted by Liverpool 'vanished for three years' after nuke test
Han Kwang-Song was tipped for the top after being courted by Liverpool, Manchester City and Juventus - but his career was derailed by Kim Jong-un
Han Kwang-Song was a supernova, his talent saw him courted by Liverpool and Manchester City before earning a move to Juventus.
He was tipped for the very top of the sport - however, Han, from North Korea, has found his career derailed as a prisoner of geography.
In a fall as quick as his rise, Han is back in North Korea playing for the army team, only leaving the country for international games. And his turn of fortunes can all be tracked back to one moment.
Han's rocket to the top started at Cagliari, netting his first goal on European soil in his second game. The North Korean calmly dinked the ball of Joe Hart in the Torino net.
The striker, at this point, was already known to top clubs across Europe -- both Liverpool and City had shown interest in him, with the Reds even sending chief scout Barry Hunter reportedly travelling to meet the player and his representatives.
However, as soon as Han started to score, questions were asked about his nationality.
Han's compatriot Choe Syong-Hok had lasted four months at Fiorentina when it was discovered his salary was being funnelled back to the North Korean authorities.
Han went on loan to Serie B side Perugia, where he let his goals do the talking. And they were the only thing that could do the talking as the North Korean regime blocked an interview on Italian television.
Perugia president Massimiliano Santopadre said: “A call from a shadow ministry figure arrived and it blocked everything. Negotiating, like on the transfer market, was impossible, too, because Pyongyang want to talk only and exclusively with Han.
"The situation with their government has become even more rigid and their footballers have been prohibited from appearing on TV, otherwise they would have repatriated him. Han is scared."
Yet his goals were too much to ignore and Juventus landed him on loan with an obligation to buy at end of the two-year deal. On January 2 2020, that move was made permanent - but six days later he was sold.
In September 2017, North Korea carried out its sixth nuclear test, prompting the United Nations Security Council to announce further sanctions. In November, they tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The UN responded with an iron first and announced that all North Koreans working and “generating foreign export earnings that the DPRK…uses to support its prohibited nuclear ballistic programs” would have to be sent home by December 22 2019.
It's unknown how Juventus were able to purchase him and sell him again two weeks after the deadline.
Han had been sold to Al-Duhail in Qatar - before he simply vanished. According to UN records, Han’s contract with the Qatari side was terminated in 2021, in compliance with the prohibition on employing North Koreans.
However, he was unable to return to his homeland due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
There are reports he flew back to Italy, while a report from China sees a former North Korean international player claim he was trapped in the North Korean embassy in China and forced to train alone for three years.
He would remerged in 2023, almost four years after he vanished, when North Korea returned to international football against Syria in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.