SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday it won’t send cheerleaders to the upcoming Asian Games in rival South Korea, blaming what it called Seoul’s hostility for reversing a decision to dispatch the women dubbed by South Korean media as a “squad of beauties.”

Many South Koreans were infatuated in past years with the cheer squads of mostly young North Korean women that came south, often lavishing more attention on them than on the North’s athletes. Before her marriage, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s wife was on a 2005 squad. Analysts say the North’s decision suggests that the country may not continue an earlier push to improve ties with South Korea.