North Korean Women's Football Team to Face South Korea in Suwon This Month... First Visit Since Declaring 'Hostile State'

AFC Women's Champions League Semifinal to Be Held at Suwon Sports Complex on May 20

The North Korean women's football team will visit South Korea in the middle to late part of this month. They are coming to take part in the semifinals of an international football tournament scheduled for May 20 in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. The last time North Korean officials visited South Korea for a sporting event was in December 2018, when the unified Korea table tennis team competed. With inter-Korean relations completely severed, attention is focused on whether this football match could serve as a breakthrough for dialogue between the two Koreas for the first time in eight years.

On November 15, 2025, after the match against AWCL ISPE (Myanmar) in Yangon, Myanmar, the North Korean hometown women's soccer team greets fans. May 4, 2026 [EPA·Yonhap News archival photo]

According to the Ministry of Unification and the Korea Football Association on May 4, the North Korean Naegohyang Women's Football Team is expected to visit South Korea to play in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League semifinal match, which will be held at Suwon Sports Complex at 7 p.m. on May 20. Their opponent will be Suwon FC Women from South Korea. The semifinals feature four teams: South Korea, North Korea, Tokyo Verdy Beleza from Japan, and Melbourne City FC from Australia. The semifinals have thus set up an inter-Korean showdown.

However, since this visit by the North Korean women's football team is for a match between individual football clubs organized by the private sector, not a national team competition, there is a general mood to refrain from attaching excessive political significance to the event. An official from the Ministry of Unification stated, "We welcome the North Korean squad visiting for the first time in eight years," but added, "Given that this is a purely private match, we will cooperate to ensure a calm and comfortable environment so that the players can focus on the game." There is a possibility that Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young may attend the match in person, but the official noted, "Nothing has been decided yet."

The official entry date for participating teams is May 17. The North Korean team is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport on a commercial flight from Beijing at around 2:15 p.m. on the 17th. They will stay at a hotel in Suwon prepared by the AFC, where they will share accommodations with their semifinal opponents, the Suwon FC Women squad.

The decision to hold the AFC Women's Champions League final in Suwon had already made North Korea's potential visit a focal point of attention. Given North Korea's stance of designating South Korea as a "hostile state," there was speculation that they might skip the match and withdraw from the tournament. However, contrary to expectations, North Korea notified organizers of their intention to participate just before the application deadline. North Korea reportedly submitted a list of 39 people to the organizers, including 27 players (with 4 reserve players) and 12 staff members.

The team that wins the semifinal will advance to the final, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. on May 23. If the North Korean team makes it to the final, they will stay in South Korea for about a week. Players from the participating countries will train at the auxiliary stadium of Suwon World Cup Stadium, raising the possibility that North and South Korean players may encounter each other at the training ground.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on March 29 that the North Korean women's football team had advanced to the semifinals, making the news public domestically. The North Korean women's football team is considered one of the strongest teams on the international stage. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, known as a sports enthusiast, has made "building a sports powerhouse" one of the country's major national tasks and reportedly shows special affection for the team. Although the AFC Women's Champions League is only in its second year, the prize for the champion is as much as 1 million dollars (about 1.47 billion won), while the runner-up receives 500,000 dollars. On the other hand, teams that forfeit after reaching the semifinals must pay a certain penalty. North Korea reportedly deliberated until the last minute before informing organizers of their participation somewhat later than the other semifinalists.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.