 Choe Thae-bok was first elected as a deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly in 1982; in the same year, he led a SPA delegation to France.This was only the first time he led North Korean delegations on official visits, including a journey to the Soviet Union, East Germany, China and Bulgaria in 1984–1985.In 1984, he was appointed alternate member of the WPK Central Committee, then full member and secretary in 1986 and Politburo member in 1990.