![\"23\uc77c\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/image\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/image-873d3f41-6f18-451c-81ab-4c654e76dc19.jpeg\")
[Herald Economy=Kim Kwang-woo] Ri Yu-il, coach of North Korea\u2019s Naegohyang Women\u2019s Football Club, abruptly ended the post-match press conference after a South Korean reporter used the label \u201cNorthern side.\u201d<\/p>\nTranslation result.North Korea club coach abruptly ends championship press conference after reporter uses ‘Northern’ label<\/p>\n
[Herald Economy=Kim Kwang-woo] Ri Yu-il, coach of North Korea\u2019s Naegohyang Women\u2019s Football Club, abruptly ended the post-match press conference after a South Korean reporter used the label \u201cNorthern side.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Yonhap, Naegohyang beat Japan\u2019s Tokyo Verdy Beleza 1\u20130 on the afternoon of the 23rd at Suwon Sports Complex to win the 2025\u20132026 AFC Women\u2019s Champions League final.<\/p>\n
After the match, Ri attended the press conference and reflected on the victory. He said, \u201cNaegohyang was founded only 14 years ago, and now we\u2019ve become Asia\u2019s top team,\u201d and he expressed gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and to the ruling party.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cI\u2019m very proud of our players for following my instructions through difficult moments to reach this point,\u201d and he thanked the families and supporters who stood by the team and helped them achieve first place.<\/p>\n
With this victory, Naegohyang qualified to represent Asia at the FIFA Women\u2019s Club Champions Cup.<\/p>\n
Ri said, \u201cOur club has a very short history, but today we reached a historic moment as Asia\u2019s top team and will now move onto the global stage,\u201d adding, \u201cWords can\u2019t describe the emotions and excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also noted that the awards ceremony was over and that the team faces new challenges. \u201cAs coach, I\u2019ll do my best to deliver strong results on the bigger stages ahead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The tone shifted when a South Korean reporter began a question by saying the \u201c\u2019Northern side\u2019 women\u2019s football\u201d had long been strong. The room suddenly grew tense.<\/p>\n
Ri signaled his displeasure about the term to the interpreter. The interpreter relayed Ri\u2019s request that the proper country name be used, then informed the reporter, \u201cHe will not take your question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ri immediately stood up and left the press room. He had staged a similar protest after North Korea\u2019s win over South Korea in the quarterfinal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, when a South Korean reporter referred to North Korea as \u201cthe northern side.\u201d Ri objected then as well, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s not \u2018the northern side\u2019\u2014it\u2019s the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
North Korean women’s football coach Ri Yu-il interrupts press conference over the term ‘North side’ after winning the AFC Women’s Champions League.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/05\/CP-2023-0083\/thumb-c02bac83-272e-4294-8f56-d86b479e7b33.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278093],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n