They reached the top, but not everything was over. International attention is focused on the fate of the prize money won by North Korea's Naegohyang women's football team.
The Japanese Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 24th (Korean time), "Can North Korea receive the championship prize money? There is a possibility that payment could be restricted due to U.N. sanctions," and gave focused coverage to the issue.
Naegohyang defeated Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the final of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation women's Champions League held at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 23rd to reach the top. With this, a North Korean club won the tournament for the first time and claimed the top position in Asia. At the same time, they also secured a spot in the FIFA women's Champions Cup.
The achievement was clear, but there were separate practical problems. The winner's prize for this tournament amounts to $1 million (1.5 billion won). However, it is uncertain whether that amount can be transferred intact due to sanctions on North Korea.
Mainichi Shimbun explained that "the U.N. strictly limits North Korea's ability to obtain foreign currency, and this is a measure to prevent diversion to funding nuclear and missile development," and added, "If the prize money is considered income, payment itself could be restricted." It went on to say, "Even if payment is possible, because it is effectively excluded from the dollar-based international financial system, the remittance procedure itself is not easy."
There is an actual past case. Prize money won by North Korean teams at international tournaments was not paid out immediately but was held separately by the international federation and later used for things such as tournament participation expenses. A similar method is likely to be applied this time as well.
Meanwhile, Naegohyang celebrated the historic achievement immediately after the match. Coach Ri Yu-il said, "Our players poured everything into victory. As a result, we were able to achieve our goal," and added, "Although the team's history is short, we have reached the top of Asia and faced the moment of advancing to the world stage." However, during the subsequent question-and-answer session, he showed somewhat uncomfortable reactions and ended the interview.
The result of winning was clear. But the compensation that comes with it has not yet been determined. Naegohyang's 1.5 billion won prize money still remains a "post-result issue."
[OSEN]