Naegohyang Women's FC landed Sunday for AFC Women's Champions League semifinals, marking first athletic visit from North in eight years.
8:20 AM
A women's soccer team from North Korea arrived in South Korea on Sunday for the semifinals of the AFC Women's Champions League, marking the first visit by athletes from the North to the South in eight years.
Naegohyang Women's FC, based in Pyongyang, landed at Incheon International Airport on a plane from China. The delegation consists of 27 players and 12 staff members. The team departed the airport without addressing the media.
The visit was approved under the inter-Korean exchange law despite current strained ties between the two neighbors. South Korean activists gathered at the airport to welcome the North Korean team, holding signs that read "Welcome North Korean soccer club Naegohyang Women soccer team."
The North Korean club is scheduled to play against South Korea's Suwon FC Women in Suwon on Wednesday in the tournament semifinals. All 7,087 tickets made available to the general public for the match sold out within a short period, reflecting strong public interest in the rare inter-Korean sporting event.
Naegohyang Women's FC will face Suwon FC Women on May 20 in AFC Women's Champions League semi-finals, marking first inter-Korean sports exchange since 2018.
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