Richard Smith wants to start selling the official soccer jersey of the world's most secretive totalitarian regime before the World Cup tournament begins June 11.

He isn't optimistic.

Hawking the soccer jerseys of all 32 World Cup teams competing in South Africa this year is a point of pride for Mr. Smith, the managing director of Subside SportsLtd., an apparel seller in Exeter, England.

To do that, he and his fellow sports merchandisers must find North Korea's soccer shirt. They've initiated the equivalent of a world-wide Easter egg hunt, talking to apparel makers from Mexico to China.

Mr. Smith says he would order 1,000 North Korean jerseys if someone would just let him. "Our market is collectors," he says. "They will want the shirt no one else has."