The North Korean Missile Researcher Who Became A South Korean Lawmaker

In North Korea, Park Choong-kwon became involved in making long-range missiles designed to hit targets on the US mainland (Credit: AFP)

Park Choong-kwon was once a member of an elite North Korean unit that developed long-range missiles. Now, as a lawmaker in the South, he is sounding the alarm over Kim Jong Un's weapons.

As a teenager in the North, Park was plucked from his regular classroom and sent to a school for gifted kids, from where he quickly progressed to the country's National Defense University.