North Korean football club arrives in South Korea

The Naegohyan women's soccer team from North Korea has arrived in South Korea to participate in the semi-finals of the Asian Women's Champions League. This was reported by the Reuters news agency on May 17.

This visit by athletes from the DPRK was the first in the last eight years and takes place against the background of strained relations between the two countries. The delegation included 39 people, including 27 players and 12 staff members.

In the city of Suwon, the team will meet with the local Suwon Club. The Ministry of Unification of South Korea clarified that the visit was approved within the framework of the law on inter-Korean exchange. The athletes will stay in the country until next weekend, but in case of defeat, the team can return home the very next day after the match.

Interest in the upcoming game turned out to be extremely high. All 7,087 tickets were sold out within one day.

Despite the status of the event, official Seoul intends to limit its role, as the tournament is a club event, not an interstate one. According to the rules of the Asian Football Confederation, national anthems and political symbols, including the flag of the unification of Korea, will not be played during the game.

Such a sporting encounter will take place at a time when the DPRK authorities have officially consolidated South Korea's status as the most hostile state. At the same time, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed hope for an improvement in bilateral relations. According to South Korean media, Unification Minister Jong Dong Yong may be present at the semifinal match. The winner of the meeting in the final will play with the Japanese club Tokyo Verdi or the Australian Melbourne City.

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The Chosun Daily newspaper reported on May 12 that the South Korean government will allocate 300 million won ($200,000) from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to support the DPRK women's soccer team, which will arrive in the country to participate in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League. It was noted that the funds will be used to purchase tickets for watching matches and manufacture posters and other paraphernalia.