KARACHI, Oct 10: The government has accorded the necessary permission to the Pakistan Table Tennis Federation (PTTF) to invite North Korean coaches on a two-year assignment, a top official of the PTTF confided to Dawn on Wednesday.

Identified as Jon Bong Su and Li Hwang Il, the North Korean experts are expected to arrive here by the end of this month, according to the PTTF president S. M. Sibtain.

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), he said, will bear their entire lodging and boarding expenses.

During their stay in Pakistan, the foreign coaches will groom players for the 11th South Asian Games and other foreign committments besides creating a pool of talented youths.

This is for the first time the PTTF has hired the services of North Korean coaches and that too for a long stint. Chinese coaches used to train the players in the past.