Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week. ------------N. Korea marches in Russia's Victory Day parade in show of military bond: Seoul SEOUL -- The unification ministry said Monday that North Korea's participation in Russia's Victory Day parade was to display the two nations' deepening military ties. "By marching in Russia's Victory Day parade for the first time, North Korea showed off its military ties with Russia," Yoon Min-ho, the ministry's spokesperson, said at a regular briefing. ------------KFA seeks gov't approval for North Korean women's football team visit SEOUL -- The national football governing body has submitted a formal request asking the government to allow a North Korean women's football team to visit South Korea for an international match, officials said Monday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) submitted the application Sunday through the online inter-Korean exchange system operated by the Ministry of Unification, according to the officials. ------------S. Korea to use gov't funds to support cheering squads for N. Korean football team visit SEOUL -- The unification ministry said Tuesday it will spend 300 million won (US$200,000) to support South Korean civic groups planning to cheer at an upcoming match featuring a North Korean women's football team. "We have received a number of requests from civic groups regarding support for the match, and the government has decided to provide financial assistance through the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, considering the event contributes to mutual understanding between the two Koreas," a ministry official told reporters. ------------N. Korea extends retirement age for office workers by 3 yrs amid population aging SEOUL -- North Korea has raised the mandatory retirement age for office workers by three years to reflect the country's population aging and demographic changes, according to a North Korean academic paper Wednesday. A revised labor law in 2024 stipulates that the retirement age for office workers eligible for state pension benefits is now 63 for men and 58 for women, according to the paper published in the 2026 first issue of the Journal of the Kim Il Sung University, seen by Yonhap News Agency. ------------S. Korea to approve N. Korean football team's visit for AFC semis SEOUL -- Seoul will soon approve a planned visit by a North Korean women's football team to the country, the unification ministry said Thursday. Pyongyang-based Naegohyang Women's FC is scheduled to arrive in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul, on Sunday to face Suwon FC Women in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League. It will mark the first appearance by a North Korean athletic team on South Korean soil in more than seven years. ------------U.S., N.K. appear unprepared for summit, but possibility cannot be ruled out: Seoul official SEOUL -- Preparations for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appear almost nonexistent on the occasion of Trump's ongoing visit to China, but the possibility cannot be ruled out, a senior South Korean government said Thursday. "At this stage, the possibility of a U.S.-North Korea summit cannot be ruled out. However, our understanding is that almost no preparations have been made. We shall have to wait and see," the foreign ministry official said on the chances of a meeting between Trump and Kim. ------------Ex-POWs win damages suit against N. Korea for 3rd time SEOUL -- Former South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) again won a damages suit filed here against North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday over forced labor they endured in captivity. The Seoul Central District Court ordered North Korea and Kim to pay 21 million won (US$14,000) each to five former POWs, who escaped from the North in the early 2000s after being taken prisoner during the 1950-53 Korean War. ------------(END)