orth Korean football fans - at least, those with both a TV set and a reliable electricity supply - were allowed to see their team's first World Cup ga

But the broadcast gave new meaning to the term "action replay", making it onto the airwaves of the country's single, government-run channel more than 12 hours after the final whistle.

That, though, is far from unusual.

In fact, the latest match against Portugal is reported to be the first time a North Korean game played on foreign soil has been broadcast live back home.

It was a risky decision for two reasons.

Firstly, it was an open invitation for anyone who wanted to protest against North Korea's human rights record to have their messages beamed directly into Pyongyang living rooms.

And secondly, there was always the chance that the country's sporting heroes would get roundly and humiliatingly thrashed.

"I think because they played so well against Brazil in the last game, no-one in North Korea would have imagined that they'd lose so big this time," Kim Young-il tells me while watching the game in his Seoul apartment.