SEOUL — A delegation from North Korea's Naegohyang Women's FC arrived at Incheon International Airport on Sunday aboard a flight from China to play South Korea's Suwon FC Women in the semi-final of the AFC Women's Champions League. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7pm local time (10am GMT) on Wednesday in Suwon.

A total of 39 players and staff from the North Korean club entered South Korea, comprising 27 players and 12 staff. The team made no comments on arrival, while citizens at the airport used their mobile phones to film the group.

The visit was approved under the inter-Korean exchange law and covers the players' stay until next weekend. Seoul's unification ministry said the team could leave earlier if eliminated, in which case the squad would return home the day after the semi-final. South Korea's government said it will keep its role limited but will provide logistical support for the visiting team.

The unification ministry has set aside 300 million won ($200,000) from an inter-Korean cooperation fund to support a cheering squad for both sides. The government will also provide financial support to civic groups planning to organize a 3,000-member squad to cheer for both North and South Korean teams at Wednesday's match. Seoul's unification minister Chung Dong-young is considering attending the match. All 7,087 tickets made available to the general public sold out within a day.

"We should be cautious about interpreting their visit to South Korea as a sign of an improvement in South-North relations," said Lee Wootae, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification. "It would be more accurate to view this as a limited South-North Korean contact within the framework of international sports," he said.

A spokesperson for South Korea's ruling Democratic party offered a different view on the visit. "It may be difficult to hope for a complete thaw in strained relations by this one-time visit," the spokesperson said. "We hope it will serve as an opportunity to tear down high barriers between the South and the North."

North Korea has labelled South Korea its "most hostile state" and has ruled out reuniting the nation split by the 1950-1953 Korean war. South Korean president Lee Jae Myung has called for improved ties with the North. North Korea last sent its athletes to South Korea in December 2018 for a table tennis event.

Naegohyang defeated Suwon 3-0 in the group stage in Myanmar last November. In line with Asian Football Confederation rules, the match will not feature national anthems or political symbols, including the Korean Unification flag. Melbourne City FC and Tokyo Verdy Beleza are to face off in the other semi-final on Wednesday, with the winners meeting in the final on Saturday at a stadium in Suwon.