Goals from Kim Dae-seung and Lee Jong-ho earned South Korea a comfortable 2-0 victory over China in the East Asian Cup.
South Korea finished third as tournament hosts two years ago, but laid down a strong marker at the Wuhan Sports Centre on Sunday.
Having seen North Korea mount a late comeback to defeat reigning champions Japan earlier in the day, the pressure was on these two sides to take maximum points and draw level in the group standings.
And it was South Korea who lived up to the challenge, sealing victory with a goal in each half.
Kim opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time, and then turned provider for Lee to double the advantage 12 minutes after the interval as Uli Stielike's side made it four wins in succession, all without conceding a goal.
South Korea face Japan in their next fixture on Wednesday, with China going up against North Korea.
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