The World Aquatics Championships to be held next week in South Korea's southwestern city of Gwangju is poised to be the biggest event in the championships' history.  

The organizers said on Thursday that as of 9 a.m. a total of seven-thousand-507 people from 194 countries, including two-thousand-639 athletes, have registered for the worlds that will kick off on July 12.

The 2015 worlds held in Kazan, Russia featured two-thousand-413 athletes from 184 countries while the previous one in Budapest in 2017 brought together two-thousand-303 athletes from 177 countries.  

North Korea has yet to register for this year's event, but the organizers plan to accept a delegation from the North right up until the opening day.