North Korea has accepted the relocation of its World Cup qualifier against Japan to Thailand without spectators.

Lee Kang-hong, deputy secretary general of the North's soccer federation, on Tuesday told Sports Nippon that his government still finds the punishment hard to understand.

But he said Pyongyang has accepted the ruling in light of its strained relations with Japan and believes the match is a good opportunity to promote bilateral understanding.

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, has ordered the June 8th qualifier moved to Bangkok as punishment for fan riots in Pyongyang after the North's loss to Iran on March 30th.