Private group seeks to stage int'l youth football tournament in N. Korea next year

North Korea’s 4.25 Sports Team and a Gangwon Province selection team pose for a photo at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon, ahead of the official opening match of the 5th Ari Sports Cup, Oct. 29, 2018. Courtesy of Gangwon Province

A private group promoting inter-Korean sports exchanges said Monday it will seek to stage an international youth football tournament in North Korea's Wonsan next year, where teams from the two Koreas could compete and help thaw stalled ties.

Kim Kyung-sung, head of the Inter-Korea Sports Exchange Association, disclosed the push in a copy of his presentation at a policy debate held at the National Assembly.

Kim said his group held a closed-door working-level discussion with the April 25 Sports Club, a North Korean sports organization, in China's Guangxi in July, adding that it will seek further talks with the North Korean side on hosting an international competition in Wonsan next year.

The group led the hosting of the Ari Sports Cup, an under-15 youth football tournament aimed at facilitating inter-Korean sports ties, in South Korea's Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, in 2018, where a North Korean team competed.

The group agreed at that time to bring the 2019 event to the east coastal North Korean city of Wonsan, but it was indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"A successful hosting of the competition in Wonsan in 2026 (if it takes place) would reopen the door for stalled inter-Korean ties and serve as a new landmark for promotion peace through sports," Kim said.

Before its suspension, the event was held in South Korea's Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, North Korea's Pyongyang and China's Kunming between 2014 and 2017.