The 23rd Taekwon-Do World Championships were successfully held in Italy last October.

The DPRK players topped the country standings to demonstrate to the world again the spirit and might of the country as the homeland of Taekwon-Do.

Shortly ago, The Pyongyang Times reporter Kim Hak Chol interviewed Kim Myong Gun, chairman of the Korean Taekwon-Do Committee who participated in the championships as head of the DPRK Taekwon-Do team.

Will you please tell me about the scale and characters of the recent championships?

The championships held in the middle of Europe brought together over 1 180 players from 72 countries and regions including the DPRK, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Greece and Bulgaria.

These were the largest numbers of participating countries and regions and players in the history of the championships.

Particularly, the championships drew more than 20 countries from Europe alone. The figure also compares favourably with those of past championships.

The players of European countries participating in the championships reportedly set a goal to win at it at any cost by availing themselves of the opportunity that the championships would take place in Europe in six years and put in a great deal of effort for the preparations.

I think that our players might have been placed under considerable psychological pressure.

You are right. Moreover, our country is the homeland of Taekwon-Do which has taken part in the championships from the fifth to the 22nd and ranked first in the country standings each time.

Whether to defend that dignity and honour or not depended on us. So we took part in the championships with an ambitious aim and tremendous courage.

Will you tell me about the most impressive matches and successes achieved by our players in detail?

After snatching 26 medals including 14 golds in the Taekwon-Do pattern and special technique events held on the first day, our players demonstrated high playing ability and fighting spirit to the world in almost all other events of sparring, power breaking and self-defence routine.

Most attractive of them was the senior men’s over 92kg individual sparring event, also known as a catchweight event among experts.

Tu Kum Song, a debutant in the world championships, competed in it.

It drew 13 players and among them there were two two-time world champions and some players weighed 100kg and more.

Tu Kum Song defeated all his opponents, breaking the old recognition that European players were dominant in heavyweight categories.

Sin Yun Hyok also won the senior men’s 92kg individual sparring title.

Pak Ji Hyang, Min Hye Gyong and Hong Jin Gyong, two-time world champions, won the senior women’s team sparring event which was the climax of the championships.

As a result, our players bagged more than 70 medals including 46 golds.

And six players were selected as the most valuable players and awarded individual technical prizes for displaying high techniques in the events.

Our players really caused a sensation at the championships, I think.

Of course. A personage of the International Taekwon-Do Federation said that the DPRK team had a solid lead over others in the total standings from the first day, adding that the Taekwon-Do world championships will lose its value without the DPRK team.

After seeing the matches, a Greek businessman said that the DPRK players won victory with quick and unique tactics in the matches with European players of heavy build, he was fascinated by their high ability, fighting spirit, agility and unique game tactics and he wanted to support the DPRK team.

The secretary general of the Taekwon-Do Association of Kyrgyzstan expressed his hope that he would invite DPRK instructors to get help with improving the level of Taekwon-Do techniques of his country.

Hearing your stories, I have come to feel the growing interest of the world in Taekwon-Do and take great pride in our orthodox martial art.