Of Course it's Women Who Broke a Seven-Year Dry Spell Between North and South Korea

Naegohyang arrived in Incheon, South Korea, in distinctive attire and later changed into soccer gear to defeat Suwon 2-1. The win secured a spot in the AFC Champions League finals and created a milestone as the country’s first athletes in South Korea in more than seven years. The last inter-Korean sports participation in South Korea occurred in 2018 during a mixed doubles table tennis event, which ended with silver. Diplomatic channels have largely shut, and the team’s coach emphasized the match focus rather than any ambassadorial purpose. Large crowds attended the game, reflecting renewed interest in inter-Korean sports exchanges amid strained relations.

"But on Wednesday, they switched into their knee-high socks, orange cleats, and white-clad kit to defeat South Korea's Suwon team 2-1, locking in their spot in the AFC (Asian Football Club) Champions League finals-and cementing recent history as the country's first athletes in more than seven years to compete on southern soil."

"Ahead of the match, Naegohyang's coach, Ri Yu-il, made it explicitly clear that this was no ambassadorial ploy, and insisted to reporters that the team was only "focused on winning" and that they "came [there] strictly to play the match." Still, hundreds of spectators filled the stands in an outsize turnout for a sport not typically that popular-and seemed especially eager about the North Korean team's presence."

"The last time a North Korean sports delegation competed in South Korea was in 2018, when two players from each country teamed up to play mixed doubles in an international table tennis tournament. (They won silver.) But things have changed since, and diplomatic channels between the two countries have mostly shut."

"North and South Korea used to regularly use sports as a diplomatic approach, sometimes even appearing together for opening ceremonies during the Olympics and Asian Games. This started petering out under North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, though, and with no thanks to Trump-who in 2019 helped frost ties between the two countries after pursuing a disastrous summit with Kim."

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