The win took the East Asian side within one match of lifting the trophy for a third time, having emerged champions in 2006 and 2016.
Having impressed enroute to making the semi-finals, reigning Asian champions DPR Korea started as favourites on a windy Wednesday evening against a United States side who had to work hard to reach the last four stage.
The decisive goal came as it so often has done for DPR Korea at the tournament; intense pressure forcing opposition mistakes where they pounce.
In this case, it was an errant throw-in, the ball won and three passes later Choe Il-son was through on goal and her left-footed shot sent the ball into the net and making her joint top of the Golden Boot race.
They came close to doubling the lead early in the second half, the best of those seeing Teagan Wy pull off an outstanding save to deny Choe Il-son, one-on-one, just shy of the hour.
USA came close to finding a leveller in the 76th minute as a shot from substitute Pietra Tordin forced a smart low save from keeper Chae Un-gyong, one of the few she’s had to make at the tournament.
Remarkably, for a coach who has been setting new trends with his early substitutions, Korean boss Ri Song-ho didn’t make a single move until the 90th minute.
Not that it mattered with his team maintaining an extraordinary intensity as they saw out the 1-0 win to set up a Bogota decider with either Japan or the Netherlands on Sunday.
