Which of the following country–capital pairs is not correctly matched?

Introduction / Context:
Many general knowledge questions ask you to identify the one incorrect country–capital pair among several correct ones. This tests both your knowledge of capitals and your ability to spot subtle errors. In this question, four options look reasonable because they contain real capitals, but one pair does not belong together. You need to know which capital city belongs to which country in order to recognise the mismatch.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The countries mentioned are Indonesia, Maldives, North Korea, Zimbabwe and Brazil.
• The corresponding capitals given are Jakarta, Male, Seoul, Harare and Brasilia.
• Exactly one of these pairs is incorrect.
• We assume standard modern political geography, without any historical capitals or disputed claims.

Concept / Approach:
The method here is straightforward: for each pair, check whether the capital listed actually belongs to that country. Indonesia's capital is Jakarta, Maldives has Male as its capital, Zimbabwe has Harare and Brazil has Brasilia. North Korea, however, has Pyongyang as its capital, while Seoul is the capital of South Korea. Thus, the pair that links North Korea with Seoul is incorrect even though both names are real and familiar.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Check Indonesia - Jakarta. Indonesia is an island nation in Southeast Asia and its capital is Jakarta, so this pair is correct.Step 2: Check Maldives - Male. Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean, and its capital is Male, so this pair is also correct.Step 3: Check North Korea - Seoul. North Korea is a country on the Korean peninsula, but its capital is Pyongyang. Seoul is the capital of South Korea, not North Korea. This makes the pair incorrect.Step 4: Check Zimbabwe - Harare. Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Southern Africa and its capital is Harare, so the pair is correct.Step 5: Check Brazil - Brasilia. Brazil is the largest country in South America, and Brasilia is its planned capital city, so this pair is also correct.Step 6: Conclude that the only mismatched pair is North Korea - Seoul.

Verification / Alternative check:
An alternative way to verify your answer is to focus on the Korean peninsula. There are two separate countries: North Korea and South Korea. The capital of North Korea is Pyongyang, while Seoul is the capital of South Korea and is globally recognised as one of the major cities of East Asia. If you associate Seoul correctly with South Korea, the given pair North Korea - Seoul stands out as clearly wrong. All the other pairs are well established in atlases and school textbooks and are unlikely to be trick options.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Indonesia - Jakarta is a fully correct pair and therefore cannot be the answer to a question asking for the incorrect match. Maldives - Male is also correct. Zimbabwe - Harare is the standard and widely accepted capital. Brazil - Brasilia is correct, even though many people think of Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo, which are large cities but not the capital. Since the question asks which pair is not correctly matched, choosing any of these correct pairs would be a mistake.

Common Pitfalls:
Examinees sometimes confuse capitals in regions where there are neighbouring countries with similar sounding names, such as North Korea and South Korea. Another pitfall is assuming that the largest or most famous city is always the capital, which is not true for countries like Brazil or Turkey. To avoid such confusion, regularly revise lists of countries and capitals and pay special attention to regions where political division is important, such as the Korean peninsula. This practice will reduce errors in questions that mix correct and incorrect pairs.

Final Answer:
The country–capital pair that is not correctly matched is North Korea - Seoul.