North Korea promotes 'soccer diplomacy' with South Korea, Japan

Oct. 25 (UPI) -- Members of a North Korean youth soccer league stepped into the South on Thursday ahead of an international tournament scheduled to take place in Gangwon Province.

The 84 players used a land route to cross into South Korea to take part in the fifth Ari Sports Cup U-15 youth football tournament, according to Seoul Pyongyang News.

"The 84 North Korean athletes will pass through the Military Demarcation Line at 11 a.m. to visit the South by a land route," a South Korean unification ministry official told reporters. "Mun Ung, head of the April 25 Athletic Committee, will be in charge of the team."

Mun is a North Korean deputy minister who was appointed to the committee in 2018.

The athletes will play in the tournament, then return to the North from China on Nov. 3, the unification ministry said.

The youth tournaments in the South will include teams from China and Vietnam, with a total of 230 players in eight teams in participation. The fifth tournament of the championship took place in Pyongyang in August.

Soccer is a popular pastime in North Korea.

North Korean news agency KCNA reported Thursday North Korea-Japan friendship games between men's and women's teams of physical education colleges took place on Wednesday.

An official identified as Genshiro Matsunami led the Japanese group, according to the North Korean report, and met with North Korea Sports Minister Kim Il Guk and Han Man Hyok, a representative of the North Korea-Japan friendship association.

North Korea won both the men's and women's matches, according to KCNA.