North Korea’s women won back-to-back U-17 World Cups, beating the Netherlands 3-0 in Morocco — the fourth time the country has taken the title. Combined with the U-20 team’s third World Cup in 2024, North Korea’s women have become the dominant force in women’s youth football.
How does a state that, the United Nations says, “does not have any parallel in the contemporary world” perform so well at youth level? Dr Jung Woo Lee, senior lecturer in Sport and Leisure Policy at the University of Edinburgh, told DW that international sport is one of the few ways North Korea can demonstrate its sovereignty, existence and identity. Big sporting successes let the country display its flag to the world, and domestically sport is used as propaganda to glorify leaders and the state.
A clear and conscious strategy
Football is popular in North Korea, but leaders recognized the gap to the top in senior international football is hard to close. They focused instead on women’s youth football, where the competitive gap is more manageable — and where the objective is winning, not building long-term pathways to senior success. Lee points out that in many European countries professional leagues and multiple stakeholders support clubs, while European youth football often emphasizes enjoyment. By contrast, North Korean girls as young as 13 or 14 enter highly disciplined, systematic and professional training regimes, allowing them to excel early.
In Morocco, North Korea’s U17 side conceded only three goals in the whole tournament and scored three or more on four occasions — a continuation of form from previous years. The U20s in 2024 not only beat Argentina 6-2 but then won three straight 1-0 matches from the quarterfinals on to claim the trophy. The Pyongyang International Football School selects, develops and educates young girls using a disciplined, scientific approach that supports this strategy.
Regime positioning and life-changing rewards
For the regime, sporting success is also ideological. Lee says under Kim Jong Un, North Korea contrasts socialist and capitalist systems, framing socialist will and sacrifice as superior to capitalist reliance on professional medical or coaching judgment. That narrative of mental toughness is presented as an advantage.
Beyond patriotism and discipline, players are motivated by tangible rewards. The regime can offer residence certificates required to live in Pyongyang and has given apartments to players — a major life change given harsh conditions and shortages in rural areas. For talented girls, success can be like winning a life-changing lottery.
What next for this generation?
Stars such as Yu Jong-hyang, top scorer at the 2025 U17 World Cup, and Choe Il-son, key in both U17 and U20 victories, might prompt speculation about moves to the WSL or NWSL. But Lee says foreign transfers are difficult: economic sanctions and government control complicate moves abroad. Past cases in other sports showed salaries routed to government accounts rather than individual players, adding further obstacles.
Much about the team and the country remains opaque, but success at youth level has clearly been a deliberate plan.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
This article was updated to reflect North Korea’s U17 World Cup win in November 2025.
