North Korea’s women’s soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw with South Korea at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, offering a glimpse of sporting rivalry and cautious camaraderie amid deepening tensions between the two Koreas.

Both sides had already qualified for the knockout rounds after winning their opening two games, making the inter-Korean clash at Shizuoka’s mostly empty Ecopa Arena a battle for bragging rights and an opportunity to secure the top spot in their first-stage group.

In front of cheering squads of pro-DPRK ethnic Koreans living in Japan, the North Korean team began the match with its usual