North Koreans cheer as Naegohyang women's football team players return following their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League triumph, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Wednesday. Yonhap
North Korea's women's football team Naegohyang received a grand welcome home ceremony in Pyongyang after winning a recent regional tournament, state media reported Wednesday.
Players were greeted Tuesday by government and sports officials, as well as family members, at the airport, before their bus made its way through Pyongyang streets lined with cheering, flag-waving citizens, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, also reported the team's return, with photos of smiling players holding bouquets of flowers.
While North Korea's state media lauded the team's victory at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League, they made no mention of the venue. The semifinals and the final of the event were held in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, last week.
