On September 19, 1945, members of the 88th Brigade boarded the Soviet cargo ship ‘Pugachev’ and entered the port of Wonsan with Choe among them.

He is also said to have been shot and wounded during an argument with the chief of staff of the division, Colonel Lee Hak-gu, during the First Battle of Naktong Bulge.

In April 1956 he was nominated as a candidate (non-voting) member for the WPK Central Committee during the 3rd Party Congress.

In September 1961, at the 4th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea he was elected a member of the Central Committee.

[3][4] In July of the same year he was appointed a deputy prime minister of North Korea.