Ta Mok
Pen Sovan was born into an ethnic Vietnamese family in Takéo. He first joined the Khmer Issarak at the age of 13 in 1949 and fought against the French. Two years later, Sovan joined the Indochinese Communist Party where he first met Ta Mok. Sovan supported the Khmer Rouge during the 1970-1973 civil war against the Khmer Republic and he worked along with Chan Sy under Khieu Thirith, in charge of the Voice of the United National Front of Kampuchea. From 1973 to 1979, Sovan lived in exile in Hanoi.