The Democratic People's Republic of Korea women's national football team ( Munhwaŏ

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

: 조선민주주의인민공화국 녀자 국가종합팀, recognized as Korea DPR by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

) represents

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

in international women's football. North Korea is one of the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in most countries and territories in Asia. The AFC was formed in 1954. It has 47 members. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation ( ...

women's powerhouses alongside Japan, China and Australia. The Eastern Azaleas won the

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

in 2001 (scoring 53 goals in 6 matches, a record that still stands), 2003, and 2008, and reached the quarterfinals of the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak o ...

History

1980s

According to data from the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) () is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946, and now features ...

, women's football in the country began to take shape in 1985. The first football team was formed in the Society of Provincial Sports of

South Pyongan Province South Pyongan Province (; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its capital is Pyo ...

(), and other women's football teams started emerging soon after. On May 19, 1986, the first exhibition match of women's football teams was played at the Kim Il Sung Stadium in

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

. The first international match of the North Korean national team was held on December 21, 1989, against the Chinese national team as part of the

1989 AFC Women's Championship The Asian Football Confederation's 1989 AFC Women's Championship was held from 19 to 29 December 1989 in Hong Kong. The tournament was won by for the second consecutive time by China in the final against Chinese Taipei. Group stage Group A -- ...

. The match, which took place in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, ended in a 1–4 defeat for the Koreans. Later in the same tournament, the national team played two more matches, losing 1–3 to

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

and winning 4–0 against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, thus finishing third in their group. In the following year, in 1990, the North Korean national team won their first international medal, securing bronze medals at the Women's Football Tournament of the 1990 Asian Games in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. They only suffered one loss to the Chinese team during the tournament and achieved a 7–0 victory against the South Korean national team. The 1991 AFC Women's Championship in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, in addition to its primary purpose, served as a qualification stage for the

1991 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was the first FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national football teams. It took place in Guangdong, China from 16 to 30 November 1991. FIFA, football's international governing body sele ...

, with the top three Asian teams earning a spot in the World Cup. The North Korean national team had a successful start in the tournament, finishing second in their subgroup, which qualified them for the semi-finals. In the semi-final match, the Koreans were defeated by the Chinese team with a score of 0–1. In the match for third place, they faced the Chinese Taipei team. The regular and extra time of the match ended in a goalless draw, and the winner was determined in a penalty shootout, in which the North Korean national team lost 4–5, finishing fourth in the tournament and narrowly missing qualification for the World Cup. The 1993 AFC Women's Championship brought silver medals to the North Korean team, as they only lost the final match to the Chinese team with a score of 3–0. The North Korean team missed the

1995 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, the second edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was held in Sweden and won by Norway women's national football team, Norway, who became the first European nation to win the Women's World Cup. The tournament fea ...

tournament as they were absent from

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games (), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games () or simply Hiroshima 1994 (), were held from October 2 to 16, 1994, in Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first Asian Games in history to be hosted in a non-capital city. Th ...

held in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, which served as a parallel qualification for the World Cup. The North Korean national team was also absent from the 1995 AFC Women's Championship. For the first time in their history, the Korean women's team secured a spot in the World Cup after finishing as runners-up in the

1997 AFC Women's Championship The 1997 AFC Women's Championship was a women's football tournament held in the province Guangdong, China between 5 and 14 December 1997. It was the 11th staging of the AFC Women's Championship. The 1997 AFC Women's Championship, consisting of ...

. In the semi-finals, they defeated the Japanese national team with a score of 1–0. In the final match, they faced the Chinese team once more and were defeated 0–2. At the 1998 Asian Games, the North Korean national team reached the final again but lost 0–1 to its Chinese counterparts. In their first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, the North Korean team was placed in a group with

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and the tournament hosts, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. They lost their first match against Nigeria 1–2, but bounced back in the second match to defeat the Danish team 3–0. A 0–3 loss to the United States in the final group-stage match left the North Korean team in third place in the group, preventing them from reaching the tournament's knockout stage.

Disqualification for 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

During the team's participation at the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

, on 7 July 2011,

announced that two of its players, Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim, had failed doping tests during the tournament and were provisionally suspended prior to their team's match against Colombia. On 16 July, FIFA announced that three additional players from North Korea tested positive following target testing of the whole team. North Korea reasoned the positive doping results in from

deer musk Deer musk is a substance with a persistent odor, obtained from the caudal glands of the male musk deer. Although more commonly referred to as " musk", the term itself is often used to describe a wide variety of "musky" substances from other anim ...

-derived Chinese traditional medicine used to treat players hit by lightning. On 25 August 2011, the North Korean team was fined 400,000 which is equal to the prize it received by finishing 13th in the 2011 tournament, and was excluded from participation at the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

, including its qualification round.

2020s

After it won the 2019 Cyprus Women's Cup in March 2019, the team was inactive until the 2022 Asian Games (played in September 2023) partially due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; during this time, the team became unranked due to a lack of FIFA-recognized play. The team's ranking has since been restored. North Korea would almost qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics losing to Japan in the two-leg third round Olympic qualifiers. As of the June 2024

FIFA rankings The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, first introduced in December 1992. The List of men's national football teams, men's teams of the member nations of FIFA, football's world governi ...

, the team is ranked 10th in the world.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend

2024

2025

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Manager history

* Myong Dong-chan (명동찬) (1989–1999) * Ri Song-gun (리성근) (1999–2003) * Sin Ui-gun (신의근) (2012) * Kim Kwang-min ( 김광민) (2004–2011, 2013–2019) * Jo Song-ok (조성옥) (2016) * Ri Yu-il (리유일) (2023–present)

Players

Current squad

The following 20 players were called up for Friendly matches against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. * Match dates: 12 and 15 July 2024 * Opposition: * Caps and goals correct as of: 15 July 2024, after the match against

Recent call ups

* The following players have been called up to a North Korea squad in the past 12 months.

Honours

Major competitions

: Champions:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: ''Runners-up:''

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Continental

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

¹ : Champions:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

: ''Runners-up:''

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

: ''Bronze Medalists:''

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Regional

EAFF E-1 Football Championship EAFF E-1 Football Championship, known as the East Asian Football Championship from 2003 to 2010, and the EAFF East Asian Cup for the 2013 and 2015 editions, is a men's international association football, football competition in East Asia for memb ...

: Champions:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

: ''Runners-up:''

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Friendly

* Albena Cup : Champions:

Australia Cup The Australia Cup (currently known as the Hahn Australia Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the national association football, soccer single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Fo ...

: Champions:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

* Cyprus Women's Cup : Champions:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* Four Nations Tournament : Champions:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

History

1980s

Disqualification for 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

2020s

Results and fixtures

2024

2025

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

Manager history

Players

Current squad

Recent call ups

Honours

Major competitions

Continental

Regional

Friendly

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

Olympic Games

AFC Women's Asian Cup

Asian Games

EAFF E-1 Football Championship

Algarve Cup

Cyprus Women's Cup

Four Nations Tournament

See also

References

Further reading

External links