Ri Kum Suk scored her 12th and 13th goals of the tournament and North Korea dominated Japan, 3-0, Thursday to book its berth in the Women's World Cup and earn a spot in Saturday's title game at the AFC Women's Championship in Thailand.
The North Koreans meet China, which beat South Korea, 3-1, in the championship match.
With China also through to the finals as the original host of the 2003 tournament, Japan and South Korea will play for Asia's final automatic World Cup berth in Saturday's third-place game. If South Korea pulls off an upset, it would advance to the World Cup, and Japan would meet Mexico in a two-game playoff for the final spot.
North Korea, the reigning AFC and Asian Games champion, also got an own goal from Yayoi Kobayashi, who spent preseason with the Atlanta Beat. The Japanese attack, led by Atlanta's Homare Sawa and nine-goal striker Mio Otani, offered the Korean defense little challenge.
The buildup to the final four offered no surprises. Japan went 4-0-0 in Group B, outscoring foes, 34-0, and China dominated Group C, going 3-0-0 with a 29-0 goal margin. North Korea and South Korea both went 3-0-1 in Group A, allowing their only goals in an academic 2-2 draw that concluded group play.
The North Koreans scored 45 goals in five group matches, 11 by Ri and nine by Jin Pyol Hui.
Chinese Taipei's chances of reaching the semifinals were quashed in a 5-0 loss to Japan and a stunning 1-1 draw with Myanmar, which squeezed past the Taiwanese into second place in Group B on goal differential.
Former Atlanta star Sun Wen has scored seven goals for China, six of them in a 12-0 rout of India, and Sawa has netted six for Japan. Washington's Bai Jie (four goals) and Pu Wei (one goal), both on loan to Chinese clubs this season, and former San Diego defender Fan Yunjie (one goal) also contributed to China's success.