SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� A arrived in South Korea on Sunday to compete in a regional tournament, the first visit by North Korean athletes in eight years amid political tensions between the two nations.
A total of 39 players and staff with North Korea鈥檚 Naegohyang Women鈥檚 FC arrived at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, aboard a plane from China. They didn’t make any comments, though some activists shouted 鈥淲elcome! Welcome!” and citizens used their mobile phones to film their arrival.
The North Korean team will face South Korea鈥檚 Suwon FC Women on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women鈥檚 Champions League in Suwon, a city south of Seoul.
The two Koreas have occasionally used to create feel-good moments when relations were amicable. But the latest soccer event won鈥檛 likely signal any thaw in their long-strained ties, with North Korean leader maintaining his against South Korea.
鈥淲e should be cautious about interpreting their visit to South Korea as a sign of an improvement in South-North relations,鈥� Lee Wootae, a senior research fellow at Seoul鈥檚 Korea Institute for National Unification, said in a recent report. 鈥淚t would be more accurate to view this as a limited South-North Korean contact within the framework of international sports.鈥�
In recent years, Kim has repeatedly called South Korea his country鈥檚 principal enemy and taken steps to eliminate the idea of shared statehood and establish a hostile on the Korean Peninsula. Observers say such a move likely stems from Kim鈥檚 wariness of South Korea鈥檚 cultural influence and his purported perception that South Korea is no longer useful in dealings with the U.S.
North Korea last sent its athletes to South Korea in December 2018 for a table tennis event. At the time, North and South Korea were engaged in a flurry of following the North鈥檚 participation in the in South Korea earlier in 2018.
The brief period of inter-Korean detente came to an end after a on ending North Korea鈥檚 nuclear program collapsed in 2019 due to disputes over international sanctions on the North. North Korea has since performed a provocative run of weapons tests to expand its nuclear arsenal and rebuffed South Korean and U.S. offers to restore diplomacy.
South Korea鈥檚 current liberal government, led by President espouses rapprochement with North Korea. The government said it will provide financial support to civic groups planning to organize a 3,000-member squad to cheer for both North and South Korean teams at Wednesday鈥檚 match.
鈥淲e will enthusiastically cheer for them by chanting the names of both teams and their players, while faithfully adhering to AFC guidelines,鈥� the civic groups said in a joint statement.
North Korea is a powerhouse in women鈥檚 soccer, particularly at the youth level. It has won the Under-17 Women鈥檚 World Cup four times and the Under-20 Women鈥檚 World Cup three times. Naegohyang Women鈥檚 FC defeated Suwon FC Women 3-0 in the group stage in Myanmar last November.
Melbourne City FC and Tokyo Verdy Beleza are to face off in the other semifinal on Wednesday. The final is set for Saturday at a stadium in Suwon.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
