The home side roared into an 11th minute lead when Alimardon Shukurov’s free-kick took a deflection off Joel Kojo before landing kindly for Khristiian Brauzmann to steer home from close range, giving DPR Korea custodian Kang Ju Hyok no chance of saving it.

Kyrgyz Republic continued to pile on the pressure with Gulzhigit Alykulov’s attempt from outside the box forcing Kang into making a save in the 21st minute.

Shortly after, DPR Korea suffered a setback when Kim Kuk Bom had to go off injured with Ri Un Chol replacing him, with head coach Sin Yong Nam then making a tactical switch by taking out debutant Kim Song Hye for Kye Tam.

The changes did result in DPR Korea seeing more of the ball but chances were at a premium for both sides as Kyrgyz Republic went into the break holding onto their advantage.

The first 15 minutes of the second half saw both sides cancelling each other out with no attempts registered on either end.

It wasn’t until the just after the hour mark that there was meaningful action when Jong Il Gwan bore down at goal but saw his shot blocked by a last-ditch challenge from Valerii Kichin with the Kyrgyz defender then stopping Ri Il Song’s header from the ensuing corner kick.

The closest DPR Korea came to finding an equaliser was through Choe Ju Song’s header in the 78th minute, but the unmarked forward sent his effort wide of the target following a corner kick.

Kyrgyz Republic’s next fixture will see them going away to face United Arab Emirates on November 14 with DPR Korea taking on Islamic Republic of Iran.