Taekwondo Helps Bridge Korean Gap

(ATR) A demonstration team led by North Koreans will participate under the International Taekwondo Federation banner at the World Taekwondo Championships in South Korea this June.

The 34-member team consists of athletes from North Korea, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greenland, Great Britain and the United States. Members of the team will arrive in Seoul on June 23 according to the World Taekwondo Federation. The team will not be eligible to win medals at the 2017 championships.

IOC member from North Korea and ITF honorary president Ung Chang was instrumental in staging the demonstration following a meeting with the IOC-recognized WTF on May 3 in Lausanne. Chang met with ITF’s North Korean chief Yong Sun Ri and WTF president from South Korea Chung Won Choue where an invitation was extended to the ITF to attend the upcoming world championships.

However, the groundwork for such a demonstration was laid in August 2014 when Chang was still the ITF acting president. The deal includes friendly demonstrations as well as the ability for North Korean athletes to compete at WTF events even if they are not registered with the WTF.

"At a time when political tensions are high on the Korean Peninsula it is both a bit comforting and somewhat ironic that it is General Choi Hong-HI's taekwondo that gives the two Koreas something positive to work together on," said ITF spokesperson George Vitale.

The World Championships will take place in Muju – approximately 240 kilometers south of Seoul – and will run from June 24-30. The tournament is expected to be the largest taekwondo championships ever with 2,000 athletes from approximately 170 countries.

IOC president Thomas Bach will attend the closing ceremony of the championship on June 30.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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