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. In May 1937, Kim led the 74th Infantry Regiment (based in Hamhung and commanded by Kim Ik Uk) on a mission to eradicate Kim Il Sung's bandits in the border area around Baekdu Mountain. However, his force of about 2,000 men walked into a trap set by Kim Il Sung at Chiensan Pass, some distance north of Hyesanjin and Kim Il Sung's ten heavy machine guns mowed down Kim Suk Won's Japanese troops. Kim escaped the encounter with only 200 survivors.