North Korean side to make rare trip to South Korea

A team of North Korean footballers will make a rare visit to South Korea later this month.

North Korean side Naegohyang will cross the border to play Suwon in the Asian Women’s Champions League semi-final on 20 May.

Pyongyang has sent a list of 27 players and 12 staff who will make the visit.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry has confirmed the trip, which will be the first time athletes from the north have crossed the border since 2018.

North Korea sent athletes to South Korea for the Pyeongchang Winter ‌Olympics that year, as they formed a unified ice hockey team for the first time.

The rare visit comes with South Korean ⁠President Lee Jae Myung seeking to improve ​strained ⁠ties with North Korea.

Ties have in recent years deteriorated, with North Korea labelling South Korea its “most hostile state” and saying it would no longer seek reunification.

The two Koreas are technically still at war since they did not sign a peace treaty when the Korean War ended in 1953.

Naegohyang are playing in the Champions League for the first time, having beaten Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam 3-0 in the quarter final.

The winner ⁠will face Melbourne City or Tokyo Verdy ⁠in the final, also to be played in Suwon, on 23 May.