Could a soccer match help improve relations between North and South Korea?

It is a historical sports legend, but people rarely take it in that sense.

North Korea’s women’s soccer team will take to the field in South Korea on Wednesday.

becoming the first sports team from the isolated, nuclear-armed state to tour the democratic South in nearly eight years.

The rare clash has generated intense interest, offering not only a high-profile display of the power of Kim Jong Un’s regime but also efforts to maintain relations between the two countries, which are technically still at war.

Kim is pursuing a more hostile policy toward the U.S. ally South Korea, positioning his neighbour as the North’s “primary enemy” and rejecting repeated attempts by South Korea’s moderate President Lee Jae-myung for talks.

“We came here strictly to play the match,” said Ri Yu Il, coach of Pyongyang’s Negohyang Women’s FC.

Negohyang will face South Korea’s Suwon FC Women in the semi-finals of the prestigious regional tournament Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League on Wednesday.

But it will be difficult to keep the focus solely on the field in Suwon, a city south of Seoul.

Interest in the rare North-South matchup has been high, with all 7,087 general admission tickets selling out in a matter of hours last week.

Also in the stands will be an estimated 3,000 spectators from civic groups supported by Seoul’s Unification Ministry, who are expected to cheer for both sides.

“No matter the outcome, we will enthusiastically cheer on both teams so that the two core values ​​of the game – ‘fair play’ and ‘peace’ – are fully realised,” the groups said in a statement.

North Korean coach Ri told reporters that ‘the issue of the cheering team is not something that I, as a coach, or our players are thinking about. I think we will just focus on the game.”

The North Korean delegation, made up of 27 players and 12 staff members, passed through Beijing before arriving at Incheon International Airport on Sunday.

Negohyang beat Suwon during the group stages of the tournament, and another win on Wednesday will send the North Korean club through to the final this weekend, when it faces either Melbourne City FC or Tokyo Verdy Belleza.

North Korea is a powerhouse in women’s football, frequently winning youth competitions and competing at a much higher level than its men’s teams.

Analysts said Pyongyang could use the event to project an image of stability and strength, though it could also provide an opportunity for South Korea’s moderates to improve ties.

It will try to use the opportunity to demonstrate “confidence in the stability of its regime through achievements as a sports superpower”, said Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, adding that the match could also allow the Lee administration to “improve inter-Korean relations” in the South.

“The movement of athletes under international sports norms shows that minimum communication channels and security assurances between the two Koreas are still functioning,” he said.

However, he said North Korean players may face tighter controls.

“Pyongyang could impose unprecedented levels of control, including severe restrictions on contact with South Korean individuals,” he said.

AFC did not respond to a request for comment.

Sports diplomacy has played a role in relations between the two Koreas in the past.

“Historically, sports diplomacy has helped foster inter-Korean engagement,” said Victor Cha, who was director of Asian affairs at the U.S. National Security Council from 2004 to 2007.

According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the two Koreas fielded a joint table tennis team in 1991 that defeated China. During the event they also marched under a unified flag. 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

The last time North Korea sent its women’s national football team to the South was more than a decade ago during the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

“Having the match would not be a bad thing and could be a diplomatic start,” Cha said. He said that this game is taking place a few days after the visit of President Donald Trump, a major supporter of North Korea, to China.

Stella Kim reported from Seoul and Jay Ganglani reported from Hong Kong.