A North Korean womens football team will play a match in South Korea, first time since 2014

An historic visit. A North Korean women’s football team will play in South Korea on May 20 against a local club in the first sports visit from the North to the country since 2018, Seoul announced on Monday. The two neighbors are technically still at war, with their conflict ending in 1953 through an armistice, not a peace treaty.

According to the South Korean Unification Ministry, responsible for relations with Pyongyang, North Korean authorities have submitted a “notification regarding a delegation of 39 people” from the Naegohyang women’s club. They will face the South Korean team Suwon in the semi-finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League, the main tournament in the region. The ministry did not specify the team’s arrival date, which will include 27 players and 12 club members.

The winner will face either the Australian team Melbourne City or the Japanese team Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the final, still in South Korea on May 23. “The team that loses the semi-final will return home on May 21, as there is no third-place match scheduled,” the ministry stated in a press release.

Premier sports visit since 2018

This meeting is set to mark the first visit of a North Korean sports team to the South since 2018, when junior football, shooting, and table tennis delegations made the trip. The last visit of a North Korean women’s football team dates back to 2014 when the national team participated in the Asian Games in Incheon.

The Naegohyang team, based in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is made up of “national-level players,” the ministry added. The North Korean national teams are among the most successful on the continent, with several international trophies in recent years, widely praised by state propaganda.

Last November, the U17 team retained their title at the FIFA Women’s World Cup by defeating the Netherlands 3-0. The U20 team are also defending champions. The senior national team is currently ranked 11th in the world, just behind Japan (5th) in Asia.

This sports meeting comes at a time when Seoul is trying to warm up relations with its neighbor. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has been calling for dialogue and talks with the North without any preconditions.

A gesture of goodwill from South Korea

Lee, who replaced conservative Yoon Suk Yeol in 2025, known for his hardline stance, stated that the two countries will one day “make peace bloom.” A gesture of goodwill rejected for now by Pyongyang, which insists that Seoul remains its “most hostile enemy.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has called South Korean conciliatory initiatives “deceptive,” is seeking to strengthen his country’s nuclear arsenal. The North has also increased its military tests, conducting four tests in April, the highest number in a month in two years, involving sanctioned weapons.

Pyongyang is also expanding its ties with Russia, aiding in its invasion of Ukraine by sending troops and equipment, and receiving economic and technical assistance in return.