According to his official biography , Pak was born in Jagang Province in 1944 and joined the Korean People 's Army in 1960 ( becoming a general in 2012 ) . He later graduated from the exclusive Kim Il-sung Higher Party School and worked in a number of party posts in factories and mines . He was first elected to the Supreme People 's Assembly in 1998 . He accessed to leading provincial posts in the late 1990s , becoming chief secretary of the Jagang Committee of the Workers ' Party of Korea ( WPK ) in 2005 . He oversaw the modernization of the province 's arms-production facilities and the building of the Huichon Power Station , highlighted as models for " the building of a thriving nation . " In September 2010 he was made WPK Central Committee member at the 3rd Party Conference , and jumped to the leadership core as Politburo alternate and secretary for military affairs . He was also elected to the National Defence Commission ( NDC ) in April 2011 and promoted to Politburo full member in April 2012 , largely replacing Jon Pyong-ho as North Korea 's military industry manager . In that capacity , Pak supervised the Kwangmyongsong-3 and Kwangmyongsong-3 Unit 2 launches in 2012 , as well as a controversial nuclear test in February 2013
nuclear test in February 2013
2013 North Korean nuclear test
Pak To-chun