Kim Chaek

Who was Kim Chaek?

Kim Chaek was a North Korean general and politician.

Born in Sŏngjin, Kim joined the guerrilla war against the Japanese occupation in 1927 and fought alongside Kim Il-sung in Manchuria. He joined the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in 1932. He defected to the Soviet Union to escape the Japanese conquest of the partisans in 1940. He lived in Khabarovsk where he met with Kim Il-Sung and formed the 88th Special Brigade. He returned to Korea along with the Soviet Army. He was appointed number 2 Committee Vice Chairman in the Korean Workers Party. Kim Chaek became industry minister and deputy prime minister under Kim Il-Sung in 1948. In the Korean War, he was commander of the North Korean troops on the front lines.

Kim was purged when he was found responsible for the failure at the Incheon Landing. He died in January 1951. Some believe that his death was an assassination after a power struggle, and caused by gas poisoning rather than a heart attack as officially claimed.