ANCHOR: South Korea will earn a top seed along with Australia for the final Asian qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup in line with FIFA’s latest rankings. Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

REPORT: South Korea and Australia will be the top two seeds for the final Asian qualifying draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA unveiled new world rankings for March on its Web site Wednesday. South Korea ranked 30th with 751 points or up four positions from February. South Korea came in second place in Asia after 20th ranked Australia.

With their new standing, South Korea and Australia are automatically top seeds for the qualifying draw that will take place at the headquarters of the Asian Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday.

As a top seed, South Korea will enjoy the benefits of not being placed in the same group as Australia and being able to play its first match at home.

However, South Korea will have to play against either its old foe, Japan, or a strong Middle East team, Iran, which are both second seeds.

Previously, top seeds were selected based on nations’ performance at the most recent World Cup. But starting with the 2014 World Cup games, the selection is based on FIFA’s rankings that are released just before the draw.

The ten teams that have qualified for the final round of the Asian qualifying draw will be divided into two groups of five. The top two teams will automatically qualify for the World Cup while the two third-placed teams will compete in play-offs.

The final round of Asian qualifiers will begin in June.

Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.