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The head of Spain/Portugal's 2018 bid has claimed it already has as many as eight of the 22 Fifa votes in the bag.

The Iberian countries are up against England, Russia and Holland/Belgium and bid chief executive Miguel Angel Lopez said he is "moderately confident" of winning.

Asked about reports that Spain/Portugal already had eight votes, Lopez added: "It would be about that, more or less."

He confirmed that he expected most support from South America and Asia rather than Europe, and was not expecting Uefa president Michel Platini to back its bid.

"Latin America is our natural territory," continued Lopez, who said that the bid would probably have to do without any backing from Platini, plus two other European Fifa members not connected with a bidding country, Senes Erzik from Turkey and Cyprus' Marios Lefkaritis.

"They haven't given us any indication they will [vote for us]."

Last week, Fifa's ethics committee dismissed allegations of collusion between Spain/Portugal and 2022 bidders Qatar on the grounds of lack of evidence.

Meanwhile, South Korea 2022 has insisted that North Korea’s attack on the island of Yeonpyeong this week will not harm its bid chances.

The bid is dubbed ‘Passion that Unites’ and could feature games in North Korea. The South Korea delegation believes the goals of its bid may now gain an extra focus.

"Only last week Fifa president Sepp Blatter said our bid has the power to bring North and South Koreans closer together," said South Korean bid team member Hyo Jin Ahn.

"We are not trying to make money out of hosting the World Cup – we are trying to unite people and bring peace to the peninsula.

"I don't think this incident will make a negative impact on our bid. But it does show the need for peace and anything which can help bring this about, so this [incident] may possibly have a positive outcome."

It has also been announced that British Prime Minister David Cameron will spend three days in Zurich next week lobbying on behalf of England's 2018 World Cup bid.

The Prime Minister's decision to travel to Switzerland so far in advance of the December 2 vote will be seen as a major boost to England's campaign.

Cameron is likely to meet most of the 22 members of Fifa's executive committee during his visit.

Cameron had been expected to be in Zurich for the final hours of the campaign, but it has now been agreed that he will travel to Switzerland on Tuesday (November 30) – more than 48 hours before the Fifa vote.

He is likely to return briefly to London for Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday (December 1), before flying back to Zurich later that evening.

Cameron is set to play an important role in England's half-hour presentation to Fifa ahead of the vote.

He will take to the stage alongside the campaign's other highest-profile ambassadors in Zurich, Prince William and former England captain David Beckham.

Cameron's arrival in Zurich two days before the vote will mirror former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to travel early to Singapore in 2005, when he was campaigning on behalf of the London 2012 Olympics.