SEOUL, South Korea — Amid an atmosphere of goodwill, South Korea and North Korea tied 0-0 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier Sunday.

With both teams already through to the final round of qualification, the match had the feeling of a friendly from start to finish. The visitors were given a rousing reception when they appeared for warmups. The respective anthems were played before 55,000 fans in Seoul's World Cup Stadium, including 500 North Korean supporters. At the final whistle, fans applauded both sets of players.

It was a genial end to a bad-tempered buildup that saw North Korean officials repeatedly demand the game be moved to a third country or the southern resort island of Jeju. The nations technically remain at war, although fighting on the battlefield ended in 1953.

Both teams finished with 12 points, though South Korea took the top spot in Group Three due to superior goal differential.

The game itself was a dull affair. North Korea, yet to allow a goal in qualifying, rarely looked in danger as South Korea, missing injured Manchester United star Park Ji-sung, created few clear chances. Kim Jung-woo should have opened the scoring for the host after 12 minutes, but shot straight at the goalkeeper, and Park Chu-young shot over the crossbar from close range with 17 minutes remaining.

The visitors came on in the second half and Lee Kwang Chon's header was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryeong.

The draw for the final round of Asian qualification will be made on June 27 and matches begin in September.

At Saitama, Japan, Atsuto Uchida scored late in regulation time to lift Japan to a 1-0 win over Bahrain. Uchida's header from the top of the area bounced over the head of goalkeeper Sayed Jaffer and into the net in the 89th minute.

Playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura missed a penalty kick in the third minute, firing a low shot into the hands of Jaffer.

Both teams had already qualified for the last round, along with Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Uzbekistan. Japan finished atop Group Two with 13 points and earned a measure of revenge against Bahrain for a 1-0 loss in March.

"We made lots of chances and it was just a case of finishing," Japan coach Takeshi Okada said. "We will have a tough time in the final round, but I think this team can continue to grow with each game."

At Sydney, Australia fell to already-eliminated China on Sun Xiang's goal in the 12th minute. With Australia having advanced, coach Pim Verbeek rested key players and fielded a squad dominated by seven under-23 players as preparation for August's Beijing Olympics.