North Korea hosted its first-ever competitive football match with South Korea at the Kim Il-Sung stadium in Pyongyang in front of a patriotic crowd.
More than 40,000 people gathered at the stadium on Friday to watch its two female football teams battle it out on the pitch.
Prior to the historical match, punters were seen standing up to sing the South Korean national anthem, shortly followed by the North's.
Every touch of the ball by the home team in attack or defence was cheered on by supporters, who were seen waving golden cardboard megaphones.The final score was a respectable 1-1.
The only previous encounter in Pyongyang between footballers from the two sides was a pro-unification match between the men's teams in 1990, when the nations used a flag showing the whole Korean peninsula and their respective anthems were not played. North Korea won 2-1.
Since then, games hosted in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as the North is officially known, have had to be played on neutral ground due to authorities' reluctance to see the South's flag in their capital.
But despite the progressive match, authorities in Seoul, South Korea, are said to have demanded security for the players before approving the match.North and South Korea are technically at war because conflict between the two nations, from 1950 to 1953, ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Relations have plunged in recent months.
However, the Group B qualifier for the AFC Women's Asian Cup offered a rare opportunity of peace between the two.
Michael Spavor, director of Paektu Culture Exchange, which facilitates exchanges with North Korea, said: 'Sporting links have eased anxieties during times of escalating tensions.'Unison: North Koreans use their paper megaphones to get behind their women's team. Although football is popular in the secretive country basketball remains the most played sport Capacity:
'Many athletes realise afterwards how special an experience it was and they can naturally get a bit emotional,' he said.
Prior to the match, North Korea, who had home advantage and are ranked 10th in the world by FIFA compared to the South's 17th, were favourites to win in Pyongyang.
They have taken the Women's Asian Cup three times and have a head-to-head record of 14 wins, two draws and one loss.
But a missed penalty early on proved costly.
Exchanges were even in the first half, until the North's forward, Hyang Sim Sung, scored during injury time, sending the crowd into raptures.
They were stunned into silence in the 76th minute when Jang Seul-Gi netted the equaliser.
Both sides pressed for a winner through seven minutes of injury time, and at the final whistle the South's Taeguk Ladies celebrated as if victorious, while the North's players looked distraught.
Goal difference is now likely to prove crucial in deciding the group winner, who will go through to the AFC Women's Asian Cup finals in Jordan next year.
Despite the tensions, Koreans on either side of the border tend to back each other's teams when they play other countries.
Two gymnasts from the North and South also posed for a selfie at the Rio Olympics last year.
The image instantly went viral, symbolising hopes for closer ties.
