The teams shared a 1-1 draw on February 20 in the East Asian Football Championship in Chongqing with Yeom Ki-hun's first-half opener for the South, cancelled out by a Jong Tae-se equaliser 17 minutes from time.

The South Koreans went on to win the tournament on goal difference but the stakes will certainly be higher when the two adversaries face off at the Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai after both sides picked up maximum points in their Group Three openers last month.

South Korea thrashed Turkmenistan 4-0 in Seoul while their northern neighbours picked up an impressive 1-0 victory in Jordan.

The posturing between the long-time rivals has already started with the North refusing to allow the South's national anthem and flag to be used in the pre-match ceremonies, prompting FIFA to move the game from Pyongyang to China.

But regardless of the location, South Korea coach Huh Jung-moo expects his side to go all out for victory on Wednesday.

"We are capable of winning in Shanghai or Pyongyang," said Huh.

"North Korea are a strong team on the counter-attack - they have fast and physical strikers who can score - but we expect to be at our best."

While the North have not qualified for the World Cup since 1966, the South Koreans are aiming for a seventh straight berth in the finals in 2010.

They are certainly taking no chances for Wednesday's encounter, with Huh naming a full-strength side which includes Manchester United's Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo of Tottenham, Kim Do-heon of West Bromwich Albion and Fulham's Seol Ki-hyeon.

With midfielder An Yong-hak out injured for North Korea, Jong is seen as their main dangerman.

"We saw Jong at the East Asian Cup and we know what he is capable of so we need to watch him until the very end of the game," said South Korea captain Kim Nam-il.

"I have no special feeling about this game but it is an important match and we need to be ready."

Wednesday's other Group Three match takes place in Ashgabat, where Turkmenistan entertain Jordan.

Turkmenistan have not played since their heavy defeat in Seoul and coach Rahim Kurbanmamedov, knowing that it will be an uphill task for his side to qualify for South Africa, simply wants to take things one game at a time.

"Our goal is to win this match and secure our first points in this round of the World Cup qualifiers," Kurbanmamedov said.

Jordan have hardly enjoyed the best of preparations for the match, suffering a 2-1 loss to Qatar and a 4-1 thrashing by Uzbekistan in recent friendlies but coach Nelo Vingada believes that his team can get a result against Turkmenistan this week.

"I'm optimistic although the game is very difficult," said the Portuguese.

"We made a slow start in the World Cup qualifiers by losing against North Korea but that doesn't mean we should give up and hopefully we can come back in the game against Turkmenistan."

The team have travelled without midfielder Qusai Abu Alieh and defender Mohammed Khamis, who are both injured, but defenders Hattem Aqel and Bashar Bani Yassin have recovered from injuries and are expected to play.