Seoul/Tokyo - The security measures being taken for the World Cup are the most comprehensive ever witnessed in sport - from missile batteries at stadiums to satellite monitoring to massive crowd control by undercover agents.
The September 11 attacks in the United States have only increased the elaborate measures that were already in the planning stage last year. The stadium clampdowns are only a part - the measures already begin at air-and seaports.
"Terrorists will not be able to enter the country," is the flat assertion of Hur Jeong Chul, spokesman for South Korea's National Police Authority.
There have been similar utterances from Japan, where officials have joined with those from South Korea and the United States to produce lists of potential terrorists which have been distributed to all points in the two host nations.
The movements of the 32 participating squads are being monitored by satellite, and their hotels are being closely guarded round the clock by plain clothes police.
The airspace over the two countries' 20 stadiums being used in the tournament is being closed down two hours before each match through until one hour after the final whistle.
Air force radar installations and AWACS early warning aircraft will supply a constant flow of monitoring data, and in South Korea the authorities have even decided to set up anti-aircraft missile batteries at stadiums to augment regular jet fighter patrols.
Police in both countries have been given sepcial training in dealing with terrorist bombing attempts or attacks using biological weapons.
They have also had extra training in dealing with hooliganism - a phenomenon unknown in both countries - with experts being sent from France, which hosted the last World Cup and gained key information.
Police and experts on anti-hooliganism measures have been sent from a further 12 of the participating nations - including England, whose notorious hooligans will face Japanese police equipped with special net-firing guns and other capturing equipment if they misbehave at the flashpoint match against Argentina in Sapporo.
The elaborate measures have already produced their downside. Prince Takamodo, Japanese Football Association Honorary President, has expressed a fear that many of his countrymen feel - that the elaborate security will only worsen an already growing paranoia. - Sapa-DPA