North Korea's Naegohyang Women's Football Club, which captured the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League title, abruptly left a post-match press conference after taking strong exception to the term "the North side."
Naegohyang defeated Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1-0 in the 2025-2026 AFC Women's Champions League (AWCL) final held at Suwon Sports Complex on Sunday. It marked the first time a North Korean women's club team has won an international tournament held in South Korea.
Head coach Ri Yu-il and captain Kim Kyong-yong attended the official press conference held immediately after the match. Reflecting on the victory, Ri said, "Reaching the top of Asia 14 years after our founding is entirely thanks to the love and trust of our beloved General Secretary and the Party."
The initial atmosphere was relatively calm. But the mood quickly turned cold when a South Korean reporter used the phrase "the North side's women's football" during a question. Ri immediately raised his hand to halt the question, and the North Korean interpreter expressed displeasure, saying, "Please refer to our country by its correct name."
When reporters asked how they would like to be addressed, Kim Kyong-yong replied, "We are the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." The interpreter then said, "We will take no further questions," and Ri and the players stood up and left the press conference. The players also exited the stadium without further comment in the mixed zone.
This is not the first time the North Korean side has reacted sensitively to the country-name issue. During the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, Ri also refused to answer when South Korean reporters used the term "the North side," demanding, "Please refer to us correctly as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
Tensions also surfaced during the pre-final press conference held the previous day. When a reporter remarked that "the match looks set to be as physical as a Korea-Japan game," Ri shot back, "What is a Korea-Japan game?" and pushed back against the description, saying, "The word 'physical' is also not appropriate." He added, "In football, there are only referees and rules on fouls. It should be described as a match with strong contact."
