North Korean football striker Jong Tae-se has contacted at least two first-division South Korean professional clubs with an interest to play here next year, officials said Friday.

Jong, through his agent, has reached out to Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Ulsan Hyundai Tigers in the K-League, the teams’ officials said.

“We don’t have specific plans for player acquisitions for next season, and so at this stage, we are only reviewing his interest in our club,” a Suwon official said. “We need to make sure he can help our team and will also have to take into account transfer fees among other matters. But he hasn’t given us any particular conditions (for the possible move) and it’s premature to comment on where we will go from here.”
 
An official with Ulsan said he was aware of Jong’s interest, but also said it was too early to tell whether he would make his way to the K-League next year.

“We don’t know how our roster will change next year,” the official said. “All we can do at this point is to keep an eye on this development.”

Jong, 28, was born in Japan to a South Korean father and a North Korean mother. He attended pro-North Korean schools in Japan and has said in interviews that he considers himself North Korean.

The dynamic forward made his professional debut with Kawasaki Frontale in Japan’s J-League in 2006. After representing North Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Jong moved to VfL Bochum in Germany’s second division. He’s currently with a first-division German club. (Yonhap News)