North Korea is reportedly preparing to send a large delegation to the International Taekwon-Do Federation(ITF) World Championships in Kazakhstan later this month.

Japan’s Tokyo Shimbun daily on Thursday quoted multiple North Korean officials as saying that the country is preparing to send about 100 athletes and staff to the event set for August 19 to 26.

The delegation reportedly plans to travel by bus or train via Dandong in China’s Liaoning Province on August 17, and then fly from Beijing to Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana where the competition will be held.

North Korea has not sent athletes abroad since it went into lockdown in January 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a no-show at the Tokyo Summer Olympics held in 2021.

The Japanese paper said participation by the North Korean team in the ITF World Championships would be the first appearance by the country’s athletes at an international sporting event since the pandemic.

North Korea also plans to participate in the Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou, China in September, with seven athletes for reportedly registered Judo.