Naehyang Football Club Arrives [Yeongjongdo=Yonhap News]

The North Korean sports delegation, Naehyang Women's Football Club (hereinafter referred to as Naehyang), which visited Korea for the first time in eight years, exited Incheon International Airport with stern expressions, looking straight ahead.

The Naehyang team arrived at Incheon Airport around 2:20 PM on the 17th.

To see the North Korean athletes visiting Korea after a long time, groups of displaced persons, including the Incheon North Korean Displaced Persons Aid Association and the Incheon Hamgyeongbuk-do Residents Association, as well as civic groups like the Alliance for Peace and Unification, gathered at the arrival hall.

Upon hearing the news that the Air China flight carrying the Naehyang team had arrived, they waited, holding banners with messages such as "Welcome, Naehyang Women's Football Club."

They also practiced shouting "Welcome!" with flushed faces.

Naehyang Football Club Arrives [Yeongjongdo=Yonhap News]

However, about 30 minutes after their arrival, the Naehyang team, which appeared in the arrival hall, seemed to have no intention of receiving any welcoming greetings.

The staff and players, including head of delegation Hyun Cheol-yun and coach Ri Yu-il, dressed in matching dark navy suits, passed by the welcoming party and the press without smiling at all.

They walked forward, looking straight ahead, without even glancing at the welcoming remarks from the displaced persons' groups.

It took just about a minute for the Naehyang team to enter the arrival hall and exit to the airport doors. They immediately departed in a waiting vehicle.

Lee In-cheol, president of the Incheon North Korean Displaced Persons Aid Association, who came to welcome the North Korean team, expressed his disappointment, saying, "If they say they will sever ties as one people and one bloodline, who would like that? We cannot agree to completely separating into two nations."

About 100 reporters and members of the welcoming party visited the site of Naehyang's arrival. Approximately 50 personnel were deployed for security purposes.

Naehyang Football Club Coach Ri Yu-il Arrives [Yeongjongdo=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Unification, the Naehyang team that arrived today consisted of a total of 35 people, including 23 players and 12 staff members.

The government had initially approved the visit of 39 members of the Naehyang team, but it was understood that 4 alternate players did not enter the country.

The Ministry of Unification stated that the Naehyang team underwent the entry and exit inspection procedures in accordance with the Act on Cooperation between the South and the North.

Under the law, North Korean residents' identities are verified through a South Korean visit certificate rather than a passport. The Ministry of Unification added that the North Korean passports presented by some of the athletes were used solely as reference material according to regulations.

Naehyang has come to Korea to participate in the semifinals of the 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League (AWCL), with all matches scheduled to be held at the Suwon Sports Complex from the 20th to the 23rd.

This marks the first time North Korean sports players have visited South Korea for matches in eight years, since the 2018 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Finals in December 2018. For women's football specifically, it is the first visit in 12 years, since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Naehyang departed from Pyongyang on the morning of the 12th via Air Koryo and arrived in Beijing, China, where they trained near the North Korean Embassy before entering Korea on the flight from Air China on this day.

Naehyang will be staying at a hotel in Suwon and competing in the tournament.

Naehyang Football Club Arrives for AFC Women's Champions League Semifinals [Yeongjongdo=Yonhap News]

On the 20th, Melbourne City FC (Australia) and Tokyo Verdy (Japan) will face each other at 2 PM, and at 7 PM on the same day, Suwon FC Women will play against Naehyang in a South-North club clash.

The winners of the semifinals will compete for the championship trophy at 2 PM on the 23rd at the same venue.

The prize money for the winner is $1 million (approximately 1.47 billion won), and for the runner-up, it is $500,000.

Naehyang is considered a strong contender for the championship in this tournament.

The '2026 AFC-AWCL Women's Football Joint Support Group,' formed by over 200 domestic civilian organizations to cheer for both Naehyang and Suwon FC Women in the upcoming semifinal match, welcomed Naehyang's visit.

In a statement distributed to reporters covering the Ministry of Unification, the support group stated, "We hope that while competing to the best of their abilities on the field, they can also share warm camaraderie. Our support group will enthusiastically cheer for both teams, regardless of the outcome."