SEOUL: The North Korean women's football team left for China on Sunday (May 24) en route to Pyongyang after winning Asia's top tournament in South Korea, maintaining a stony-faced, restrained demeanour in what appeared to be a carefully staged display amid strained inter-Korean ties.
Naegohyang Women's FC arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 1:50 p.m. to board an Air China flight to Beijing for a stopover before flying back to Pyongyang.
The team, led by head coach Ri Yu-il, walked in near-formation to the check-in counters, looking straight ahead, despite some pro-North Korea activists shouting congratulations on their victory and calling out, "Let's meet again next time."
They disappeared through the departure gate in only about 10 minutes.
Naegohyang Women's FC, comprising 27 players and 12 staff members, arrived in South Korea last Sunday via China, becoming the first group of North Korean athletes to travel to the South in eight years and the first-ever North Korean women's football team to set foot on South Korean soil.
The North Korean women's team defeated Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the final of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday.
The US$1 million prize money for the championship will not be sent directly to North Korea due to international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The International Federation of Association Football, or FIFA, and the Asian Football Confederation will hold the funds in reserve and allow North Korea to use them to cover expenses when it takes part in future international tournaments. - Yonhap via The Korea Herald/ANN
