Newcastle United's Ki Sung-yueng has announced his international retirement in order to focus on his domestic football.

The midfielder made 110 appearances for South Korea, the last of which came in the Asian Cup quarter-final loss to Qatar last month.

"It's time for me to concentrate on Newcastle," replied when asked why he came to the decision. "I have played a lot of games for Korea and travelled back and forth for 10 years or so.

"That is difficult, such as this time. You are playing well in the team and have to leave. By the time you come back, someone else has your place. That has happened a lot of times in my career because of the national team.

"But playing for my country is also an honour. I had to decide what my focus would be on now. I have done a lot for the national team."