According to news agency Yonhap, WTF President Chungwon Choue sent the invitation to the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF), led by North Korean Ri Yong-son.

Choue met with Ri and Chang Ung, a former President of the ITF and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, in Lausanne.

The meeting was to discuss the possibility of an ITF demonstration team appearing in Muju.

In August 2014, Choue and Chang signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.

One year later, a 22-member ITF demonstration team performed at the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 WTF World Championships in Chelyabinsk in Russia.

The 30-minute cameo consisted of 13 North Koreans, supplemented by two each from Russia and the Czech Republic, who engaged in repeated bouts of aggressive wood-breaking blended with staged combat.

The WTF is currently the only taekwondo body recognised by the IOC but the ITF is the older body having been founded in 1966 by Choi Hong Hi in Seoul.

Following his exile from South Korea by the Park Chung-hee administration, Choi moved to Canada and established the ITF headquarters in Toronto, moving it to Vienna in 1985.

Following Choi's death in 2002, Chang was elected President of the ITF, following backing from the North Korean administration in Pyongyang.

Under the latest agreement, athletes registered with the WTF and the ITF are free to compete in the other Federation's competitions, under the rules and formats of the separate organisations. 

The invitation is also part of efforts to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsular.

The situation has deteriorated recently, with North Korea and the United States trading threats after the communist country's leader Kim Jong-un launched new missile tests, despite repeated warnings to stop.

The US announced it was set to activate a missile defence system in South Korea and tighten sanctions against North Korea.

US President Donald Trump sent a naval carrier group to patrol the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea also threatened to launch a "super-mighty preemptive strike" against what it called US aggression.

The 2017 World Taekwondo Championships are due to take place between June 24 and 30.

Action is scheduled to take place at Muju's dedicated taekwondo facility, the 4,500 capacity Taekwondowon. 

It is estimated that there will be 1,900 participants from 170 countries.

IOC vice-president Yu Zaiqing is scheduled to attend the Opening Ceremony.

IOC President Thomas Bach plans to make an appearance at the Closing Ceremony.