[By NBC-1TV K, Y Yi] SEOUL, KOREA (Sep 19, 2018) – A senior World Taekwondo (WT) delegation, led by WT President Chungwon Choue, and the WT Demonstration Team have been invited to North Korea by International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) President Ri Yong Son as the two federations continue to develop their collaboration.

A total of 50 WT members and 22 members from the WT Demonstration Team, based in Seoul, South Korea, have been invited to fly over to Pyongyang for a five day visit from 30 October to 3 November 2018.

During the visit, the WT Demonstration Team will perform twice at the Pyongyang Taekwondo Hall; once on their own on 31 October, and then during a WT-ITF joint performance on 2 November. The visit will be the first time since April that the WT Demonstration Team has performed in the North Korean capital.

Speaking about the upcoming visit, WT President Chungwon Choue said:

"Sport provides avenues for diplomacy, and taekwondo is one such avenue. I look forward to meeting our counterparts from the ITF and investigating ways we can help upgrade inter-Korean trust and peace, while also advancing the promotion of our sport worldwide." 

President Choue is committed to enhancing collaboration between WT and the ITF and cooperation between the two federations has developed significantly since 2014, when they signed a protocol of accord in Nanjing, China. The October event will be the latest in a long line of cooperative moves.

There have already been joint WT-ITF demonstrations on the sidelines of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea; at the 2017 WT World Championships in Muju, South Korea; and at the 2015 WT World Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Future steps and potential areas of mutual cooperation will be discussed in the October meetings.