A women’s soccer team from the isolated communist nation of North Korea arrived in South Korea on Sunday, a rare visit that has generated strong public interest.
Club Ngohyang Women’s FC’s tour is the first tour of athletes from north to south in eight years. The deal was approved under the Inter-Korean Exchange Law despite the existing strained relations between the two neighbours.
What do we know about Naegohayan FC’s journey?
The team playing in the Asian Champions League semi-finals arrived at Incheon International Airport in South Korea by plane from China.
The delegation consists of 27 players and 12 staff.
All 7,087 tickets made available to the general public for Wednesday’s match against South Korea’s Suwon FC Women in Suwon were sold out within a day.
The winner will face Melbourne City or Tokyo Verdy in the final in Suwon on Saturday, with the North Korean team expected to return home the next day after being eliminated, although its travel has been cleared by the weekend.
Sports as a form of diplomacy between the two Koreas
Seoul’s Unification Ministry said it had earmarked 300 million won (€172,000; $200,000) from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to finance cheering contingents from both sides.
It has emphasized that the event is a way to promote mutual understanding between the two Koreas, which separated after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
The communist North, led by its authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un, has in recent years called the South the “most hostile state” and said it opposes reunification.
This contrasts with the approach of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who has called for improved relations.
In a further sign of the South’s desire for rapprochement, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is also attending the match, according to South Korean media.
However, in line with Asian Football Confederation rules, the Korean unification flag, which is often seen at international sporting fixtures involving the two sides, will not be used in the match as it involves clubs, not national teams.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko