North and South Korean Workers Hold Friendly Soccer Match in Seoul

Reuters
8/11/2018
Updated:
8/14/2018

North and South Korean workers held friendly soccer matches at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Saturday (August 11), as part of an inter-Korean civic exchange.

Players from North Korea’s “Light Industry” and “Construction” workers’ soccer team arrived in the South on Friday (August 10) for a three-day trip to the country.

Organizers said the rare soccer games was the first inter-Korean civic exchange event since the historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Saturday’s match was the first of a total of two between the neighboring countries, and North Korea won the first match 3-1.

The match represents another sign of detente on the peninsula, following the North’s participation in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in the South and the historic meeting between leaders of the two countries in the demilitarized zone on April 26 and agreed to work on a peace deal and complete denuclearization of the North.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in credited U.S. President Donald Trump with the progress, saying Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the standoff with the North.

Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12—the first-ever meeting between leaders of the two countries. They signed a joint statement reaffirming North Korea’s commitment to giving up nuclear weapons.

The two Koreas first started workers’ friendly soccer matches in 1999, with games also in 2007 and 2015, according to the South Korean labor union.

The Epoch Times contributed to this report