Australian soccer fans are rejoicing at the news that the anti-siphoning laws will be relaxed and that all games of the upcoming FIFA World Cup will be televised live on SBS One and Two. In the United States, ESPN and ABC plan to show every game, not only live, but in HD as well.

Around the world - from Ljubjlana to Accra to Christchurch - fans will gather in pubs and public squares to watch their teams. They'll meet at the water cooler or the coffee pot and discuss the previous days' matches. They'll be part of the biggest single sporting event on the planet.

So spare a thought for the North Koreans.

Yes, despite all the FIFA hoopla about Fair Play and global cooperation and the world coming together, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea continues to be a good old-fashioned dictatorship. Currently, broadcasts of World Cup games - even those involving North Korea - are banned. South Korean broadcaster SBS (is there a Korean Les Murray?) had proposed beaming its coverage into the North, but talks have apparently broken off, and it's looking unlikely North Koreans will be able to watch their team.

And forget about fans booking travel tours to Cape Town or Nelspruit. Not allowed. But head of state Kim Jong-il, whom you may remember from the film Team America, has come up with a pretty good concept: he's going the Rent-a-Supporter route, giving tickets to Chinese fans who will go to South Africa and cheer for the North Koreans. Kim's real motivation for keeping his people at home could be to prevent them from discovering that there's little chance their "Supreme Leader" actually shot 38 under par on a golf course, as was reported by North Korea's government-controlled media.

At this point I should alert you to the fact that the team known as Chollima (it's a mythical winged horse) is in the Group of Death. Ordinarily, any mention of "death" and North Korea in the same sentence is bound to make some people nervous, but we're not talking Axis of Evil here, we're talking football. North Korea is drawn into Group G, with Brazil, Portugal and Cote D'Ivoire. Most experts believe they'll finish last in the group, but interestingly, history suggests otherwise.

In North Korea's only other appearance at the World Cup, in 1966, they were the surprise packets. Not only did they make the Quarter-finals, but they had a 3-0 lead against mighty Portugal before the legendary Eusebio scored four consecutive goals in what turned out to be a 5-3 Portugal victory.

There are definitely some positives about having the North Koreans in the tournament. For one thing, I'm guessing no North Korean will score a goal, then lift his jersey to reveal a t-shirt that says "I love Jesus." And I doubt that a petulant striker will badmouth the coach and storm out of the camp.

I also like the fact that there's so much mystery surrounding the team and its players. It reminds me of the old days of the USSR or the GDR. Anyone remember Valery Borzov, who stunned the American sprinters by winning both the 100 and 200 at the 1972 Olympics? Or East German marathoner Waldemar Cierpinski, a virtual unknown, who won gold in 1976 and 1980?

No matter how you feel about North Korea, just consider this: as you sit at home or in a bar in Seattle or Sydney, you'll probably know more about the North Korean team, its players and its results, than the people who actually live in that country.