Members of the North Korean women's football team Naegohyang Women's FC leave a hotel in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday, after winning the Asian Football Confederation Women's Championships League in the final match against Tokyo Verdy Veleza at the Suwon Stadium a day earlier. Yonhap
The North Korean women's football team left for China on Sunday en route to Pyongyang after winning Asia's top tournament in South Korea, maintaining a stony-faced, restrained demeanor in what appeared to be a carefully staged display amid strained inter-Korean ties.
Naegohyang Women's FC arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 1:50 p.m. to board an Air China flight to Beijing for a stopover before flying back to Pyongyang.
The team, led by head coach Ri Yu-il, walked in near-formation to the check-in counters, looking straight ahead, despite some pro-North Korea activists shouting congratulations on their victory and calling out, "Let's meet again next time."
They disappeared through the departure gate in only about 10 minutes.
