North Korean Women's Soccer Team to Play in South Korea for First Time in Eight Years

A North Korean women's soccer team is set to compete in South Korea later this month, the first time athletes from the North have entered the South in eight years. The Pyongyang-based Naegohyang Women's FC will face Suwon FC Women in the semi-finals of the Asian Women's Champions League on May 20 at the Suwon Sports Complex.

South Korea's Unification Ministry stated that Pyongyang provided a list of 27 players and 12 staff for the trip.

The last visit by North Korean athletes to South Korea occurred in 2018 during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, when the two nations formed a joint ice hockey team. North Korea also sent its women's soccer team to the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, where the women's side defeated Japan 3-1, while the men's team lost 1-0 to South Korea in extra time.

North Korean state media has not reported on the upcoming trip.

Naegohyang secured their semi-final spot with a 3-0 victory over Ho Chi Minh City from Vietnam in the quarter-finals. This marks Naegohyang's debut in the continental competition.

The visit comes as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung seeks to improve ties with North Korea. Relations have deteriorated in recent years, with North Korea designating South Korea as its most hostile state and abandoning reunification goals. The two Koreas remain technically at war, as no peace treaty was signed after the 1953 armistice.

“We have been informed by the AFC that Naegohyang Women’s FC have expressed their intention to participate in the tournament to be held in South Korea.”

Since 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suspended diplomacy with Washington and Seoul while campaigning against South Korean cultural influences domestically. The 2018 Olympics represented a period of engagement, but ties worsened afterward. South Korea's soccer body will coordinate with the government for the team's safety during their stay.