Grace Geyoro gave France the lead in the 17th minute before Wi Jong Sim equalised on the half-hour with a deft near-post finish.

Early in the second half, North Korea went in front through Kim Phyong Hwa and victory was sealed in the dying stages of the contest when Jon So Yon scored a penalty.

The result handed North Korea their first Under-20 Women’s World Cup triumph since they won the 2006 edition of the competition in Russia by thrashing China 5-0.

The final, played out in front of a capacity crowd in the Papua New Guinea capital, began at a slow pace and it was the French team who managed to break the deadlock.

Maelle Garbino whipped in a dangerous free-kick, which caused chaos in the North Korean defence as goalkeeper Kim Myong Sun could only fumble the ball into the path of midfielder Geyoro, who made no mistake from close range.

That seemed to spark the contest into life and North Korea were not behind for long, equalising 13 minutes later as Wi flicked the ball into the net from Kim’s delivery.

The Asian champions started the second half brightly and were in front shortly after the restart as Wi turned provider, deflecting the ball into the path of Kim to head home.

France then pressed forward in search of an equaliser but it proved elusive, and the match was effectively ended as a contest in the 87th minute as Jon scored from the spot, sparking wild scenes of celebration among the North Korean players.

In the third-place play-off, Mami Ueno’s goal three minutes from time gave Japan a dramatic 1-0 win against the United States.