The sessions were held in an effort to boost the number of athletes who are taking part in Para-sport across the country.

International Table Tennis Federation educator Sharad Pandit led a two-day course which aimed to introduce the classification system to 13 trainees.

Pandit outlined how sitting, standing and intellectual impairment athletes were classified and under his guidance helped the participants to classify five athletes.

“Every day in my life I am looking for new heroes whose achievements I would like to celebrate and tell others about,” Pandit reflected after the course.

“I found them in North Korea in the form of athletes and officials who continue to strive hard despite the seemingly insurmountable hardships they face.”

A further eight people were guided through the classification system in swimming by International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming educator Spyros Stavrou.

During his course, Stavrou explained the theory and process of athlete evaluation, as well as discussing rules and regulations, the classification code and the Code of Ethics.

"What pleased me the most was the candidates’ enthusiasm throughout the whole seminar and their eagerness for knowledge,” he said.

“Through the seminar we had the opportunity to encourage and support the further development of the Paralympic Movement in North Korea."

Both course were supported by funds from the Agitos Foundation, the IPC’s development arm, with the organisation having provided a grant to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Paralympic Committee.

Rim Ju Song became North Korea's first Paralympic athlete when he competed in swimming at London 2012, but the country could double their participation at Rio 2016 after earning two places.