By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter

East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, became the 189th member of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) Monday.

The Timor-Leste Taekwondo Federation has recently submitted necessary membership documents to the WTF and the taekwondo body to give the Asian country a provisional membership status.

As a provisional member, the East Timor taekwondo body is able to send its athletes to all WTF-promoted, and/or sanctioned taekwondo events, but it has no voting rights until it becomes a full member of the WTF.

The WTF will decide on East Timor's full membership at the WTF Council meeting on June 9 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the WTF General Assembly on Oct. 13, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

With the inclusion of East Timor, the WTF membership has grown to 189.

ksw@koreatimes.co.kr