Jong sets sights higher after German move

North Korea striker Jong Tae-Se, fresh from an impressive World Cup, thanked VfL Bochum for helping him fulfil his aim of playing in Europe — then said his dream was to play for a “top-rate” club.

“This transfer doesn’t mean my dream has come true,” Jong, who signed a two-year deal with the German side last week, said Monday at the training ground of his former club, J-League Kawasaki Frontale.

“After being invited to play at such a great team as Bochum, I want to produce results there and lay the foundations to fulfil my dream of moving to a top-rate club,” said the 26-year-old.

Jong, born to ethnic Korean parents in Japan, had played for Kawasaki since graduating from a Korean college in Tokyo in 2006.

He has previously made no secret of his dream to play in the English Premier League after helping communist North Korea qualify for only their second ever World Cup finals.

“As a forward, I will give all I have, aiming for more than 10 goals (a season),” said Jong, nicknamed “Asia’s Wayne Rooney” or “People’s Rooney” for his combative style.

Jong failed to score in South Africa, but he impressed despite North Korea crashing out in the group stages and set up the goal in the 2-1 loss to Brazil.

“The contract terms as well as the town of Bochum and its environment were great,” Jong said, adding he expects to get plenty of playing time at Bochum, who were relegated to the second division last season.

Jong said Germany’s relatively lenient conditions attached to foreign football players also prompted him to choose Bochum.

He has a complicated background. He holds South Korean nationality like his father, who was born in Japan to immigrants from colonial Korea. But he managed to obtain a North Korean passport after attending patriotic pro-Pyongyang schools in Japan at the urging of his mother, who is loyal to the North.

“My choice had been limited as far as the visa was concerned. In this sense, I think I was right to choose Bochum,” he said without elaborating.

Jong said the language barrier was his main worry.

“But I will study all day long as I love to learn new languages,” said Jong, who speaks Japanese, Korean and English. “The worry is only temporary.”

Jong, who has scored 15 goals in 25 matches for North Korea since his international debut in 2007, also drew plenty of attention at the World Cup when he sobbed during the communist state’s national anthem before the Brazil game.

He was among only three of the North Korean squad who played at overseas clubs.

But Kim Gwang-Ho, a Japan-based assistant coach of North Korea’s World Cup squad, said that could change, with some clubs in foreign countries, including Switzerland and Ukraine, approaching North Korean players.

“The number of overseas-based players will definite increase,” the coach said.