North Korea holds an A match for the first time in 4 years on home ground
The exchange in sports is in a spotlight in line with the warming atmosphere between North Korean and Japanese dialogue
For the first time in about four years since the outbreak of COVID-19, North Korea is set to host a national soccer match on home ground. According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News on the 11th, North Korea will hold the match against Japan, which is the 4th round of the group league in the second round of the 2026 North Central America World Cup Asian region, as scheduled at 5 pm on the 26th at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang.
The Japan Football Association announced that it officially received this notice from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is known that the AFC determined there were no issues with the match after a recent inspection team visited Pyongyang to check the preparation status directly.
Last month, the first round of the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s soccer qualifiers between North Korea and Japan was moved from the Kim Il Sung Stadium in Pyongyang to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The AFC eventually notified the change of match venue to Jeddah, a neutral area, after suggesting an alternative venue, citing a lack of preparation such as insufficient flights and match operation issues.
It is the first time in about four years since October 15, 2019, when North Korea hosted a national soccer match at home ground when it played a second-round qualifier for the 2022 Qatar World Cup against South Korea. For Japan, it’s the first time, going to an away game against North Korea, in about 12 years since November 15, 2011, when the national soccer team expedited for the third round of the 2014 Brazil World Cup Asian qualifiers.
North Korea has been closing its borders for a long time, not participating in international sports competitions during the COVID-19 pandemic due to concerns about the dissemination. However, North Korea started to return to the international sports stage starting with participation in the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China in October last year and is currently participating in the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2026 North Central America World Cup.
Meanwhile, the sports exchange between North Korea and Japan is attracting attention in line with the recent warming atmosphere of dialogue between North Korea and Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida showed a positive gesture, saying, “We are doing various activities concretely,” in response to questions about promoting a summit meeting between North Korea and Japan at the parliament on the 9th of last month.
In response, Kim Yo Jong, the deputy director of the North Korean Workers’ Party, said in a speech on the 15th of last month, “If (Japan) makes a political decision, we can open a new future at any time.” The Japanese government has officially stated that “(we are) paying attention to the announcement.”
In addition, on the 6th of this month, the Sankei Shimbun reported that an active discussion among the members of a legislative body is coming to a head regarding an expression of the repeated intention of Prime Minister Kishida to promote a summit meeting with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un for the early return of abduction victims.
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