The arrival of a North Korean women’s soccer team in South Korea on Sunday, marking the first such visit by North Korean athletes in the eighth year, highlights the ongoing political division enforced by state powers and international sanctions, which continue to limit direct exchange between Korean people despite popular calls for unity.
A total of 39 players and staff with North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s FC arrived at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, aboard a plane from China. While the team made no comments, some activists present shouted “Welcome! Welcome!” and citizens filmed their arrival, indicating a popular desire for connection.
State-Imposed Division
The North Korean team is scheduled to face South Korea’s Suwon FC Women on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League in Suwon, a city south of Seoul. Despite the sporting event, Lee Wootae, a senior research fellow at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification, stated in a recent report that observers “should be cautious about interpreting their visit to South Korea as a sign of an improvement in South-North relations.” Lee further clarified that it would be “more accurate to view this as a limited South-North Korean contact within the framework of international sports,” underscoring the state’s control over such interactions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has maintained a confrontational stance against South Korea in recent years. He has repeatedly labeled South Korea as his country’s principal enemy and has taken steps to eliminate the concept of shared statehood, aiming to establish a hostile “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula. Observers suggest this move likely stems from Kim’s wariness of South Korea’s cultural influence and his purported perception that South Korea is no longer useful in dealings with the U.S., consolidating state power through division.
North Korea last sent its athletes to South Korea in December 2018 for a table tennis event. This occurred during a brief period of inter-Korean detente, which followed North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea earlier in the eighth year.
The Cost of Imperial Diplomacy
This period of limited cooperation ended after U.S.-led diplomacy on ending North Korea’s nuclear program collapsed seven years ago, in 2019. The collapse was attributed to disputes over international sanctions on the North, revealing how economic leverage and the projection of imperial power through sanctions serve to maintain division and prevent genuine rapprochement. Following this, North Korea has engaged in a series of weapons tests to expand its nuclear arsenal and has rebuffed offers from South Korea and the U.S. to restore diplomacy, further entrenching the hostile dynamic.
South Korea’s current liberal government, led by President Lee Jae Myung, publicly espouses rapprochement with North Korea. As a gesture, the government announced it would provide financial support to civic groups planning to organize a 3,000-member squad to cheer for both North and South Korean teams at Wednesday’s match. This liberal solution, however, offers symbolic concessions without addressing the structural foundations of the division, such as the international sanctions that precipitated the collapse of diplomacy.
Workers' Solidarity Amidst Hostility
In a joint statement, the civic groups affirmed their intent to “enthusiastically cheer for them by chanting the names of both teams and their players, while faithfully adhering to AFC guidelines,” demonstrating a popular desire for unity that transcends state-imposed barriers. North Korea maintains a strong presence in women’s soccer, particularly at the youth level, having won the Under-17 Women’s World Cup four times and the Under-20 Women’s World Cup three times. Naegohyang Women’s FC previously defeated Suwon FC Women 3-0 in the group stage in Myanmar last November. Melbourne City FC and Tokyo Verdy Beleza are scheduled to compete in the other semifinal on Wednesday, with the final set for Saturday at a stadium in Suwon.