Could FIFA ban North Korea from South Africa 2010?

You don't hear it spoken of loudly quite yet, but as South Africa 2010 approaches could FIFA ban North Korea from next summer's tournament? As North Korea continues to ramp up conflict and rhetoric with most of the world they continue to isolate themselves further and further. Could the political unrest affect the soccer teams's world status? We've seen it before. Yugoslavia was excluded from the 1994 USA World Cup for their role in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

It would be North Korea's first World Cup appearance since England 1966 where they pulled a momumental 1-0 upset of Italy. They could be the type of unknown squad capable of pulling a major upset next summer as well. The North grabbed the final Asian berth thanks to a gutsy 0-0 draw in 100+ degree heat in Saudi Arabia recently.

As far as a World Cup ban goes, the world and FIFA will be watching the country's political actions over the coming months as they seem to be agitating relations worldwide.