The matchup between Suwon FC Women and North Korea's Naegohyang women's football team drew attention beyond a simple soccer match to the international community. In particular, a major U.S. news outlet analyzed the game as a symbolic scene showing the current state of inter-Korean relations and sports diplomacy.
The Washington Post of the United States focused on the 2025-2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League semifinal between Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang on the 22nd (hereinafter Korea time). The article was written by Michelle Yehi Lee, the Washington Post's Tokyo-Seoul bureau chief and a Korean American reporter.
Michelle Yehi Lee paid attention to the meaning of inter-Korean sports diplomacy as well as the cold attitude shown by the North Korean delegation.
She said, "Although North Korean players visited Korea and played a match for the first time in eight years, it was nothing like the atmosphere of a historic moment," and added, "The team left the airport with stern faces and showed little reaction to the Korean side's welcoming gestures."
She continued, "It was completely different from the atmosphere in 2018 when North Korean players received bouquets and smiled," and explained, "It was hard to find a sense of compatriotship during this visit."
In fact, after entering the country, the Naegohyang team requested that schedules other than official training be kept private and also demanded exclusive use of their accommodation, minimizing outside contact.
The Washington Post interpreted this not as a simple team management issue but as a scene symbolically reflecting current inter-Korean relations.
Michelle Yehi Lee analyzed, "Sports have long served as a limited channel of exchange in inter-Korean relations," adding, "But recently North Korea has designated Korea as an enemy state and has effectively abandoned the unification policy. This visit showed how clear that change has become."
She added, "Over the years the two Koreas have used sports as a diplomatic tool, such as joint entries and forming unified teams at international competitions," and noted, "According to counts by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), sports events in which the two Koreas participated together or faced each other numbered more than 30."
In fact, during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Kim Yo-jong, deputy department director of the Labor Party, traveled to the South, and the scene of the North and South teams entering together carrying the Korean Peninsula flag drew global attention.
But the current atmosphere has completely changed.
North Korea recently specified in its constitution that Korea is an enemy state, and inter-Korean relations have become almost severed. In this situation, Naegohyang's visit to the South itself attracted great attention.
Suwon Sports Complex sold more than 7,000 seats, and figures from the political world came to the scene. Civic groups formed a joint cheering squad for both Koreas and cheered for both teams together, and some supporters even sang North Korean songs.
But the North Korean team's reaction was cold.
The Washington Post reported, "The Naegohyang team appeared wearing Kim Il-sung·Kim Jong-un badges but hardly reacted to the welcoming atmosphere from the Korean side," and added, "Coach Ri Yu-il also maintained the attitude that they had come only to play the soccer match."
It also analyzed, "From North Korea's perspective, participation in the tournament may have had a compulsory character," adding, "There was also the possibility of sanctions if they had not participated in the tournament."
The semifinal ended with Naegohyang's 2-1 victory. Only after the match did the expressions of the North Korean players change. The Washington Post reported, "Only then did the players smile brightly and unfold the North Korean flag to take a commemorative photo."
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