First women’s football visit in 12 years since the Incheon Asian Games
The stage for inter-Korean sports exchange, which had been frozen for years, has finally reopened in full. The powerhouse of North Korean women’s football, the “Naegohyang Women’s Football Team” (Naegohyang), set foot on South Korean soil amid a warm welcome, marking the first visit by a North Korean sports delegation in eight years.
The North Korean Naegohyang Women’s Football Team arrived at Beijing Capital Airport, their transit training site, on the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News.
On May 17 at approximately 2:20 p.m., the Naegohyang delegation arrived at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 via an Air China flight, appearing in good health. According to the Ministry of Unification, the visiting group comprises a total of 39 elite members, including 27 players and 12 coaching and support staff.
As the plane carrying the team landed and the North Korean athletes began to appear at the arrivals hall, a wave of emotion swept through the crowd, with many greeting them as if reuniting with long-lost family members.
This marks the first time in eight years that North Korean athletes have personally traveled south to compete, following their participation in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Finals in December 2018. In particular, considering only the sport of women’s football—a field where the Korean people have demonstrated their strength to the world—this historic visit is the first in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, making it all the more meaningful and moving.
Previously, the Naegohyang squad departed Pyongyang Sunan International Airport on a Koryo Air civilian flight on May 12, arriving in Beijing, China. The team then settled near the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, carried out local training to sharpen their game, and finally boarded their flight to Korea on the day of arrival.
The reason the Naegohyang team undertook such a long journey to visit is to participate in the “2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Champions League (AWCL) Final Four Tournament,” which will be held in grand style at Suwon Sports Complex from May 20 to May 23.
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With the long silence now broken, hopes are high for a beautiful story of harmony to unfold on the green football field, as North and South Korea join hands once again through sports.
This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.
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