North Korean women's football team departs South Korea after tournament win
Quick Look
- The North Korean women's football team, Naegohyang Women's FC, departed South Korea for China en route to Pyongyang after winning the AFC Women's Champions League.
- The team maintained a reserved demeanor amid strained inter-Korean relations.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The North Korean women's football team, Naegohyang Women's FC, won the AFC Women's Champions League in South Korea. This marked the first time North Korean athletes had traveled to the South in eight years and the first time a North Korean women's football team had visited South Korean soil.
The North Korean women's football team left for China on Sunday en route to Pyongyang after winning Asia's top tournament in South Korea, maintaining a stony-faced, restrained demeanor in what appeared to be a carefully staged display amid strained inter-Korean ties.
Naegohyang Women's FC arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 1:50 p.m. to board an Air China flight to Beijing for a stopover before flying back to Pyongyang.
The team, led by head coach Ri Yu-il, walked in near-formation to the check-in counters, looking straight ahead, despite some pro-North Korea activists shouting congratulations on their victory and calling out, "Let's meet again next time."
They disappeared through the departure gate in only about 10 minutes.
Naegohyang Women's FC, comprising 27 players and 12 staff members, arrived in South Korea last Sunday via China, becoming the first group of North Korean athletes to travel to the South in eight years and the first-ever North Korean women's football team to set foot on South Korean soil.
The North Korean women's team defeated Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the final of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday.
The US$1 million prize money for the championship will not be sent directly to North Korea due to international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA, and the Asian Football Confederation will hold the funds in reserve and allow North Korea to use them to cover expenses when it takes part in future international tournaments.
Open Questions
- How will the prize money be managed by FIFA and AFC?
- What are the specific future international tournaments North Korea plans to participate in?
- What is the long-term impact of this visit on inter-Korean relations?
