North Korean coach Park Seong-jin, who won a silver medal in women's soccer at the Asian Games, said, "I am not responsible for the players."

(Fukuroi [Japan] = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeon Myeong-hoon = Coach Park Seong-jin of the North Korean women's soccer team, who lost to Japan in a close match that went to a penalty shootout and missed the gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, swallowed his regret, saying, "Soccer is like this..."

North Korea lost 3 to 5 in the penalty shoot-out after trading two goals each with Japan in the women's soccer final held at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan on the 2nd.

North Korea, which was evaluated as a powerful force and was aiming to win the Asian Games for the first time in 12 years since 2014, had to be satisfied with a silver medal due to today's defeat.

Regarding North Korea's performance in this tournament, Coach Park said, "Overall, I think the team accomplished the tasks presented to them, but in the end, there were a series of shortcomings. If I, as the coach, had prepared better, we would have achieved better results. The players are not responsible." He took responsibility for the defeat on himself.

He then smiled brightly and said, “I will try harder in the future.”

At the medal awarding ceremony held after the game that day, the North Korean athletes showed their disappointment with gloomy expressions without any smiles while Ko Cheol-ho, Secretary General of the North Korean Olympic Committee, who presented the award, placed the silver medal around their necks.

Coach Park said, "The players' lackluster expressions reveal their psychological distress over not being able to achieve their expected goals," and added, "I believe that failures like this are bound to occur on the team's path. I asked the players not to sit down, but to stand up and move forward with strength."