North Korean and Russian athletes squared off in friendly soccer and ice hockey matches this week, highlighting the countries’ deepening sports diplomacy amid their shared isolation in the international sports community.

The North Korean women’s soccer team on Thursday defeated the visiting Russian national team by 5-2 in a match at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Stadium, in front of an audience of North Korean “workers, athletes and soccer fans” and Russian Embassy staff, the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday.

“The match served as a good opportunity to deepen the friendship between the athletes of the DPRK and