North Korean coach dismisses focus on joint cheering squad

The head coach of North Korea’s Naegohyang Women’s Football Club on Tuesday brushed aside questions about a planned joint cheering squad from the two Koreas, stressing that his team’s sole purpose in visiting South Korea was to compete.

“We are here strictly to play football,” head coach Ri Yu Il said. “Our focus is on tomorrow’s match and the games ahead. The issue of a cheering squad is not something for coaches or players to concern themselves with.”

His remarks underscored that the North Korean delegation’s first visit to South Korea in seven years and five months is aimed at participating in an international tournament rather than promoting inter-Korean exchanges.

Ri made the comments during the official news conference for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Champions League at Suwon Sports Complex in Gyeonggi Province. He was responding to reports that about 3,000 supporters from the two Koreas would attend the match as part of a joint cheering initiative.

Naegohyang arrived in South Korea on May 17 ahead of its AFC Women’s Champions League semifinal against Suwon FC Women, scheduled for May 20.

On the government side, Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Whee-sung is expected to attend the match. A ministry official said the minister plans to be present because the tournament is an AFC-sanctioned international competition and a South Korean club has advanced to the semifinals.

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who had been considering attending the match, ultimately decided not to do so, according to government officials.


Oh-Hyuk Kwon hyuk@donga.com