North Korea's home World Cup qualifier against Japan was called off on Friday, the Asian Football Confederation said, hours after announcing it would be moved to a neutral venue.
"The fixture between DPR Korea and Japan, scheduled to be played on March 26, will not take place as scheduled due to unforeseen circumstances," the AFC said in a statement.
It said the decision was taken after talks with FIFA and came a day after North Korea said it would not be able to stage the game in the capital Pyongyang.