 In 1917, Kim was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant.During the 1931 invasion of Manchuria, Kim was captain of a mechanised artillery division, which had a distinguished combat record.After the 1937 outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kim was further promoted to major, and assigned to the IJA 20th Division based outside of Seoul, which was a singular indication of the trust that he had attained within the Japanese military.