Aug 9 (Reuters) - South Korea lifted the men's East Asian Cup title after China blew it in front of their home crowd on Sunday.

South Korea could have clinched the title with a victory against neighbours North Korea but were held to a goalless draw in the first match at the Wuhan Sports Centre.

The outcome left Uli Stielike's men with five points at the end of their campaign in the four-team round robin tournament.

China needed to beat Japan to win the title but the hosts played out a 1-1 draw to finish with four points and hand South Korea their third East Asian Cup title.

Shanghai SIPG midfielder Wu Lei struck in the 11th minute to raise China's hope of a third title but Yuki Muto equalised shortly before the interval to frustrate the hosts.

North Korea had defended the women's title with a 2-0 victory over their southern neighbours on Saturday.

Stielike was pleased with the performance of his young squad.

"There is not one player who disappointed me, and we're the only undefeated team," the German told Yonhap news agency after the match against North Korea.

"We have young and promising players that I think will be even better in the future." (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Martyn Herman)