Kim Ung ( or ; 1912 – ?) was a North Korean general and vice-minister of defence. He was a member of the
Yan'an faction
The Yan'an faction () were a group of pro-China communists in the North Korean government after the division of Korea following World War II.
The group was involved in a power struggle with pro-Soviet factions but Kim Il-sung was eventually able ...
.
Chinese military
Kim fled China to avoid the Japanese occupation, and was trained at the
Whampoa Military Academy
The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...
in the late 1920s or early 1930s. He became a communist and probably was on the
Long March
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...
. During the late 1930s and the 1940s he was in the Eighth Route Army and became brigadier or divisional commander.
Korean war
On the outbreak of war, 25 June 1950, Kim was a lieutenant general commanding 1 Corps of the
Korean People's Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General S ...
(KPA). On the death in action of Lieutenant General
Kang Kon
Kang Kon (; June 23, 1918 – September 8, 1950) was a Korean military leader active in Manchuria and the Korean peninsula as well as a politician during the years leading up to the Korean War and during the first stages of the Korean War in 195 ...
, Kim succeeded him as chief of staff to General
Kim Chaek
Kim Chaek (, 14 August 1903 – 31 January 1951) was a North Korean revolutionary, military general, and politician. His real name was Kim Hong-gye ().
Life
Kim Chaek was born in Sŏngjin, North Hamgyong, Korea, in 1903. He and his family ...
, front commander.
By 1951 Kim Ung was KPA front commander, succeeding
Kim Chaek
Kim Chaek (, 14 August 1903 – 31 January 1951) was a North Korean revolutionary, military general, and politician. His real name was Kim Hong-gye ().
Life
Kim Chaek was born in Sŏngjin, North Hamgyong, Korea, in 1903. He and his family ...
, who was purged for his failure at the Incheon Landing, Kim Ung held the post until the end of the war.
purge
In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...
d by
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...