North Korea's powerhouse women footballers are in Seoul to fight for title

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: North Korea's powerhouse women footballers are in Seoul to fight for title43 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleYuna KuBBC News Korean Could a football match boost North Korea-South Korea relations? Pounding rain and strong winds did not stop more than 5,000 spectators from turning up at a football stadium in Suwon, just south of Seoul, on Wednesday night. Wrapped in raincoats, they cheered and booed, their screams sweeping across the stands as a rare match unfolded on the pitch: North Korea vs South Korea.

But there was something more unusual. Hundreds of South Koreans appeared to be cheering with loud cries of "Naegohyang", the name of the visiting North Korean club. They had been brought together by local NGOs who did wanted them to cheer both sides.

The Details

The North Koreans' participation was initially met with scepticism: the relationship between the two sides has soured in recent years as Kim Jong Un tested a record number of ballistic missiles and continued pursuing nuclear ambitions. In 2023, he formally abandoned Pyongyang's long-standing goal of reunification with the South and has since designated it a "hostile state". But the team arrived as expected, the first athletes to travel south of the border since 2018 - and the Naegohyang Women's Football Club marked the return with a win in the semi-final of the Asian Women's Champions League.

They beat South Korea's Suwon FC Women 2-1, with second-half goals from Choe Kum Ok and Kim Kyong Yong. Tonight they will face Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza in the final. via Getty ImagesPak Ye Gyong Naegohyang Women's FC fights for the ball with Haruhi Suzuki of Suwon FC WomenFor football fans and those who have followed North Korea's record, the result did not come as a surprise.

North Korea has long held a strong reputation in women's football. It stands 11th in Fifa rankings, the second-highest ranked Asian side after Japan. Founded in Pyongyang in 2012, Naegohyang won the North Korean league title in 2022.

What Experts Say

The squad includes several players from the national team and is currently managed by a former head coach of the women's national team. "North Korea is highly focused on discovering and training young football talent," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul. Kim Jong Un, who like his father is known for his strong interest in sports, pledged to turn North Korea into a "sporting powerhouse" soon after taking power in 2011.

The Pyongyang International Football School, built in 2013 on Rungna Island in the capital, is regarded as a cradle for elite football players, training promising youth from across the country. "Even in the 1990s, when I was training in North Korea, there was already a well-established system in schools to nurture young athletic talent," said Kim Sang-yoon, a former North Korean national boxer who defected in the 2000s. "At elite sports schools, talented students were usually selected and trained from elementary or middle school.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.