Players of North Korea's Naegohyang Women's FC come out from a hotel in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Yonhap

The first-ever meeting between women's football clubs of the two Koreas to be held on South Korean soil will take place this week, with the South Korean side seeking to avenge an earlier loss to their foes from north of the border.

Suwon FC Women, representing the WK League in the South, will play Naegohyang Women's FC of North Korea in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul.

Now in its second year, the AFC Women's Champions League is the top continental women's football competition. Both Suwon FC Women and Naegohyang are playing in the competition for the first time.

Naegohyang arrived in South Korea on Sunday after training for a few days in Beijing. They are the first North Korean women's football club to play a match in South Korea, and also the first group of North Korean athletes to travel here for competition since December 2018.

Given all the hoopla surrounding Naegohyang's presence here, it can be easy to forget there will be football played this week.

Naegohyang defeated Suwon FC Women 3-0 in their Group C match in November, with Ri Su-jong netting twice and Park Ye-gyong scoring the other goal. Naegohyang outshot Suwon FC Women 7-3 and enjoyed a 17-4 edge in shot attempts as well.

However, Suwon FC Women are a much different club now. In January, they reacquired Ji So-yun following her short loan spell with Birmingham City Women FC.

Ji is widely considered the greatest women's football player for South Korea, as the country's all-time leader with 175 caps and 75 goals.

Ji has been joined by other national team mainstays, including defender Kim Hye-ri and forward Choe Yu-ri, who also signed with Suwon FC Women in January. They played a major role in helping Suwon reach the semifinals, with Ji and Kim each scoring a goal in their 4-0 win over the defending champions Wuhan Jiangda Women's FC in the quarterfinals.

Source: Korea Times News