The 2012 Pyongyang Marathon was held as part of celebrations for the 100 years since Kim Il-sung's birth and featured one of the race's closest ever finishes: Pak recorded the same time as Oleksandr Matviychuk (2:12:54 hours), but it was the Ukrainian who topped the podium. He was chosen to race at the Olympics for a second time and ended the 2012 Olympic men's marathon in 52nd place. He had his third fastest time of his career in Pyongyang in 2013, but managed only fourth place behind foreign opposition.