North Korea's Naegohyang Women's Football Club may be unable to collect the $1 million (approximately 1.52 billion won) prize money even if it wins the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League (AWCL) final.
According to U.S.-based North Korea-focused outlet NK News on Saturday (local time), Naegohyang will receive $1 million if it wins and $500,000 (approximately 760 million won) if it finishes as runner-up in Sunday's final against Tokyo Verdy Beleza in Japan. However, with United Nations and U.S. sanctions on North Korea still in place, it remains unclear whether Naegohyang can actually receive the prize money.
The U.N. Security Council, through Resolutions 2375 and 2397 adopted in 2017, prohibited member states from issuing work permits to North Korean nationals and required that North Korean workers earning income overseas be repatriated. The measures aim to block North Korea from securing funds for its nuclear and missile development through overseas labor and foreign currency earnings.
The most pressing issue is whether sports prize money qualifies as the "income" of a North Korean athlete as defined under the sanctions. Experts are divided in their interpretations. Maiko Takeuchi, a former member of the U.N. Security Council's Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions, said, "Sports prize money is a complex issue in that it is a right earned by the winner through the result of a match," adding, "It is not easy to demand that they forfeit the prize money."
In contrast, Christopher Waterson, a researcher at the University of Sydney, explained, "It may be a matter of legal interpretation, but the now-disbanded U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea identified professional athletes as also subject to restrictive measures." Kim Se-jin, an attorney specializing in international economic sanctions, also predicted, "International organizations like the AFC are highly likely to closely scrutinize payment channels to avoid U.S. sanctions." In fact, the AFC has not responded to media inquiries about the possibility of North Korea receiving the prize money.
This is not the first time prize money or goods for North Korean athletes have fallen through on the international sports stage. Ahead of the 2017 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) Women's Championship final, the Japan Football Association announced it would not pay the $70,000 (approximately 100 million won) prize money even if North Korea won. North Korean athletes were also unable to receive the smartphones Samsung Electronics provided to participating athletes at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and last year's Paris Summer Olympics, due to sanctions on North Korea.
Even if prize payment is approved, practical hurdles remain. "Banks in third countries are highly likely to be reluctant to make remittances due to the risks of U.N. sanctions and U.S. dollar-based financial sanctions," Takeuchi said. "AFC sponsors may also be concerned about appearing to be implicated in North Korea-related sanctions."
