SUWON — Pyongyang-based Naegohyang Women's FC is scheduled to face Suwon FC Women on May 20 in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League in Suwon, South Korea. The South's Unification Ministry confirmed the matchup, which would mark the first appearance by a North Korean sports team in South Korea since 2018.

The North Korean club submitted a list of players and staff set to travel to Suwon to the Asian Football Confederation. The visiting delegation will include 27 players and 12 club staff, who are scheduled to arrive on May 17 at Incheon airport on an Air China flight from Beijing. The Korea Football Association said North Korea would be fined by the Asian Football Confederation if the team failed to compete in the semifinals.

The winner of the May 20 semifinal at Suwon Sports Complex will play in the final on May 23 against either Melbourne City FC or Tokyo Verdy Beleza. The losing team in the semifinal will return home on May 21, with no third-place playoff scheduled.

Naegohyang, founded in 2012, defeated Suwon FC Women 3–0 in the group stage in Myanmar in November and beat a Vietnamese club in the quarterfinals in March. North Korea's women's teams are the defending Under-17 and Under-20 World Cup champions. In November, North Korea defeated the Netherlands 3–0 in the final of the Under-17 Women's World Cup.

The last time a North Korean sports team played in South Korea was in 2018, when shooting, youth football and table tennis delegations traveled there. More specifically, North Korea last sent athletes to the South in December 2018 for a table tennis event. North Korea's national women's soccer team also competed at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

North Korea has shunned talks with South Korea and the United States since 2019, after nuclear diplomacy collapsed over disagreements on U.S.-led sanctions. Athletes from the two Koreas have formed combined teams and marched together in Olympic ceremonies during past periods of diplomatic engagement.