A North Korean side are set to play in South Korea for the first time in nearly a decade as a historic encounter beckons.
North Korea’s women’s football club Naegohyang is set to travel across the border later this month for the clash.
The team will face Suwon in the semi-finals of the Asian Women’s Champions League on May 20, marking an incredibly rare cross-border journey.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry has confirmed the trip, with Pyongyang sending a list of 27 players and 12 staff who will make the trip.
It represents the first occasion that North Korean athletes will enter South Korean territory in eight years, making it a notable moment for inter-Korean relations.
The last time athletes from the North made such a journey was during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, when the two nations created a joint ice hockey squad in an unprecedented display of cooperation.
This forthcoming visit occurs as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung pursues efforts to mend fractured relations with Pyongyang.
Diplomatic ties between the neighbouring states have worsened considerably in recent years.
Naegohyang will travel to South Korea for the contest
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North Korea has designated the South as its “most hostile state” and abandoned any aspirations toward reunification.
The Koreas are technically still at war, as no formal peace agreement was signed after the war ended in 1953.
Naegohyang’s appearance in the continental competition marks their debut in the Champions League.
The historic match is scheduled for May 20
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The North Korean side secured their place in the last four with a convincing 3-0 victory over Vietnamese club Ho Chi Minh City in the quarter-final stage.
Should they overcome Suwon, they will contest the final against either Melbourne City or Tokyo Verdy.
The championship match is scheduled for May 23 and will also take place in Suwon.
The last time a North Korean football team played in South Korea was in 2014, during the Incheon Asian Games.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has been seeking to improve relations between the two states
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On October 2, 2014, South Korea beat North Korea 1-0, thanks to a 121st-minute goal by Rim Chang-woo, who scored from a rebounded effort to break North Korean hearts.
The day before though, North Korea’s women’s side beat Japan 3-1, dominating proceedings throughout.
The historic encounter, scheduled for May 20, will take place at the Suwon Sports Complex.
