N Korean Women’s Soccer Team Plan First Game in South Since 2014
Ri Myong-Gum of Naegohyang Women's FC fights for the ball during an AFC Women's Champions League match in Yangon in 2025.
Photographer: Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty Images
A North Korean women’s football team is set to visit South Korea this month for an Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League semi-final, marking a rare instance of cross-border engagement even as diplomatic ties between the two Koreas remain frozen.
The Pyongyang-based Naegohyang Women’s FC will face South Korea’s Suwon FC Women on May 20 in Suwon, a city just south of Seoul, according to a statement from the Unification Ministry. The 39-member North Korean delegation, including 27 players, is scheduled to arrive on May 17 and could stay through May 23 if the team advances to the final.