KUALA LUMPUR: China PR and DPR Korea will be aiming for their first title when they contest of the final of the AFC Under-19 Women's Championship at Kuala Lumpur Cheras Stadium on Tuesday night.

For China, it will be their second straight final having lost to Korea Republic 3-0 in the 2004 final on home ground.

DPR Korea's best performance was in the 2002 tournament in Goa, India, where they lost to the Chinese on penalty kicks in the third-place play-off.

The prize this time is greater with the winners able to proclaim themselves Asian champions for the first time.

Both teams are running into form just in time. China PR looked sluggish in their 1-0 defeat to Australia in their opening Group B match.

However, they have since turned up the heat, beating Jordan 9-0 before a 22-0 thrashing of home side Malaysia to finish second in their group.

In the semi-finals, they held the powerful Japanese to a 1-1 draw after extra time before winning 5-3 on penalties.

Coach Shang Rahui is expecting another tough battle against the Koreans.

"It was a very difficult match against Japan and we had to really fight," said Shang. "DPR Korea are one of the strongest teams in Asia and they are playing very well at the moment.

"It's going to be another tough game. We just have to stick to our game-plan and try our best."

DPR Korea coach Choe Kwang-sok would have been delighted with the way his team matched the physical Australians in every department in their 4-2 semi-final win.

The DPR Korea players refused to be intimidated by the bigger Australians, competing with their opponents for every ball and eventually getting the better of them with their speed and pinpoint passing.

"We now face another tough match," said Choe. "Whichever of the top four teams reaches the final you know it's going to be a hard game whoever you play.

"We will try our best."

DPR Korea finished second in Group A after losing to Japan 3-0 and then scoring victories over India (14-0) and Korea Republic (2-1).