Pak Chang Ok was a North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

n official and was General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea

Workers' Party of Korea

The Workers' Party of Korea is the ruling Communist party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , commonly known as North Korea. It is also called the Korean Workers' Party...

).

Pak was a leader of the Soviet Korean faction of the party, with members being mainly ethnic Koreans born in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, after the suicide of their first leader, Alexei Ivanovich Hegay

Alexei Ivanovich Hegay

Alexei Ivanovich Hegay was a Soviet political operative in North Korea and leader of the Soviet Korean faction within the early political structure of North Korea...

. He was also a member of the Central Committee.

Pak formed an alliance Choe Chang Ik and the Chinese Korean or Yanan Korean faction of the party to criticize Kim Il-sung

Kim Il-sung

Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...

 in 1956, but was expelled following the return of Kim from the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. He died in September 1958.