Ho Chi Minh City: DPR Korea boss Sin Ui-gun saluted a determined display from his side after they came from a goal down to beat Korea Republic 2-1 and begin their AFC U-19 Women's Championship on a winning note.
Korea Republic had taken the lead after 17 minutes at Thong Nhat Stadium when Choi Mi-rae finished off a set piece with a powerful strike that keeper O Chang-ran was unable to keep out.
However, DPR Korea improved after the break and equalised in the 72nd minute as Kwon Song-hwa skipped away from her marker down the right flank before squaring for fellow substitute Kim Jo-ran to steer home from the edge of the area with the help of a slight deflection from a Korea Republic defender.
And they grabbed the winner nine minutes from the end when Kwon forged down the left side and pulled the ball back to Kim Su-gyong inside the box, where the midfielder made no mistake with the finish.
Sin felt his side's grit ultimately saw them through to victory.
"We regarded this as a battle and before we came here, we got the order from our general Kim Jong-il to win, unconditionally. We have to win," said Sin.
"So we did our best as a soldier, like in a battle site, and we finally won. I think this is the most important thing. By the end of the game, we played much better."
South Korea coach Choi Duck-joo, on the other hand, felt individual errors cost his team a chance to win the contest.
"The players condition is not that good so we did not play so well," he said.
"Our defenders made some mistakes so that was the reason we lost."