Seoul: North Korea is set to begin its Asian Games campaign as its women's football team will play its first group-stage match at the quadrennial sports competition in Japan later this week, organizers said Sunday. North Korea sent a 188-member delegation to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which kicks off Saturday for a 16-day run, marking its first participation in an Asiad tournament on Japanese soil.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan reported that a total of 188 North Koreans, including 107 athletes, will participate in the Asian Games in Japan. North Korea's women's football team will spearhead the country's Asian Games campaign Monday at Nagai Stadium in Osaka against Bangladesh in Pool F. The team will face Myanmar on Thursday before taking on South Korea on September 21 in its final Pool F match.

The North Korean women's football team is one of the strongest gold medal contenders in Nagoya, led by key players including captain Kim Kyong-yong of Naegohyang Women's FC, which won the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League. Meanwhile, the men's football team is also gearing up to face China on Wednesday.

The North Korean football team arrived in Japan on Friday for their early matches, ahead of the arrival of the main delegation. This participation follows the Japanese government's decision to lift its ban on North Korean nationals entering the country, which was previously part of its own sanctions, to facilitate the Asian Games.

North Korea expects to win more medals in Nagoya than it did at the previous Asian Games in 2023 in China, where it earned 11 golds, 18 silvers, and 10 bronzes. Notable athletes include Pang Chol-mi, a strong gold medal hopeful in women's boxing after securing a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics in the women's 54-kilogram class. Song Kuk-hyang aims to achieve a second consecutive gold medal in women's weightlifting, while gymnast An Chang-ok is set to defend her titles in the vault and uneven bars events.