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North Korea's women's football club to play in Suwon this month, first cross-border sports visit since 2018

Published: 04 May. 2026, 14:33 Updated: 04 May. 2026, 18:09

The starting eleven of the Naegohyang WFC team pose for a photograph ahead of the AFC Women's Champions League match between Naegohyang WFC and ISPE FC in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov. 15, 2025. [EPA/YONHAP]

A rare inter-Korean football match is coming to South Korea, with North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s Football Club set to visit Suwon this month for an Asian Champions League semifinal. The trip will mark the first visit by a North Korean sports team to South Korea since 2018, and the first ever by a North Korean women’s club team.

The visit stands out not only because relations between the two Koreas remain frozen, but also because Pyongyang has recently avoided most sports exchanges with Seoul even as it has returned to international competition. Against that backdrop, North Korea’s decision to send a team to South Korea appears to reflect growing confidence in its women’s football program, which has emerged as one of the strongest in Asia.

Naegohyang is set to arrive on May 17 to play Suwon FC Women on May 20 at the Suwon Sports Complex in Gyeonggi, according to the Korea Football Association (KFA) on Monday.

The North Korean club informed the Asian Football Confederation of its decision on May 1, the KFA said.

It will be the first time a North Korean sports team has competed in the South since the 2018 ISSF World Championships in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, where North Korean athletes won four medals in a running target event. In football terms, Naegohyang's visit will be the first visit by a North Korean team since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and the first ever by a North Korean women’s club team.

Ri Yu Jong of Naegohyang WFC, left, in action against Yoon Wadi Hlaing of ISPE FC, right, during the AFC Women's Champions League match between Naegohyang WFC and ISPE FC in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov.15, 2025. [EPA/YONHAP]

North Korea largely stayed away from international sports events during the Covid-19 pandemic, seeking to block the virus from entering the country. It began easing those restrictions in 2023 and has since returned more fully to the international sports stage, with the Paris Olympics serving as a turning point. Pyongyang is also planning to send about 150 athletes in 17 sports, including football, to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in October.

That return, however, has not led to warmer sports ties with South Korea. Relations have remained tense since North Korea in late 2023 redefined inter-Korean ties as relations between “two hostile states” and abandoned its previous unification stance. Since then, Pyongyang has rejected dialogue and exchanges with Seoul. It also declined an invitation to last year’s World Archery Championships in Gwangju.

That is why Naegohyang’s visit is seen as unusual. The move appears to reflect North Korea’s confidence in the competitiveness of its women’s football program. North Korea secured a place at the Women’s World Cup in March for the first time in 16 years, and its women’s youth teams drew attention in 2024 by winning both the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup and the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup.

Ri Kum-Hyang, center, of Naegohyang Women's FC celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the AFC Women's Champions League match between Naegohyang Women's FC and ISPE WFC at the Thuwunna Stadium in Yangon on Nov. 15, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]

North Korea has also had the upper hand in recent inter-Korean women’s matches. At the AFC Under-20 Women’s Asian Cup in Thailand last month, the two Koreas met twice, in the group stage and the semifinals, and North Korea won both matches. Naegohyang also beat Suwon FC Women 3-0 in a group-stage meeting in Yangon in November of last year.

The AFC also appeared to encourage North Korea’s visit to South Korea. At the FIFA Council meeting in Vancouver on May 2, AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa met Kim Il-guk, head of the North Korean football Association and North Korea’s sports minister, and praised the country’s women’s football program.

“The North Korean football Association has been a beacon of excellence for the entire Asian continent,” Al Khalifa said. “In particular, it has offered a global model for the development of women’s football.”

Kim replied, “We will actively cooperate in efforts to raise the level of Asian football in line with the AFC’s vision and mission.”

Naegohyang WFC players celebrate a goal during the AFC Women's Champions League match between Naegohyang WFC and ISPE FC in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov.15, 2025. [EPA/YONHAP]

The trip is significant beyond football as well, because it opens a narrow possibility that sports could once again serve as a channel for inter-Korean contact after years of suspension.

Naegohyang, founded in 2012, is a corporate-backed club based in Pyongyang that quickly rose to become one of the strongest teams in North Korean women’s football. Its name comes from a well-known North Korean tobacco and food brand.

The winner of the Naegohyang-Suwon FC Women semifinal will face either Melbourne City or Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the final. The champion will receive $1 million in prize money, while the runner-up will earn $500,000.

A North Korean advertisement for its local brand Naegohyang [YONHAP]

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SONG JI-HOON [[email protected]]