Northeast Anti - Japanese United Army The Northeast Anti - Japanese United Army ( Chinese : 東北抗日聯軍 Korean : 동북항일연군 / 동북항일련군 ) was the main anti - Japanese guerrilla army in the northeast part ( Manchuria ) of China after the occupation of Manchuria by Japan in 1931 . It was organized by the Manchuria branches of the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) . However , it lost direct contact with the CCP headquarters in Yan ’ an , and was supported by the Comintern . Several Korean communists and anti - Japanese activists defected to Manchuria to join the NAJUA . History . After Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931 , the Chinese Communist Party organized anti - Japanese guerrilla units , and formed the Northeastern People ' s Revolutionary Army . Despite party disapproval , some party members joined or rendered assistance to various Anti - Japanese Volunteer Armies fighting the Japanese and the forces of Manchukuo . In 1934 , after the defeat of the Volunteer Armies , all these Communist Party units were reorganized into the single Northeast Anti - Japanese United Army , with Zhao Shangzhi as its Commander - in - Chief . This force continued the struggle against the Japanese pacification of Manchukuo . In 1935 , the party officially changed policy , and began creating a united front , absorbing most of the remaining anti - Japanese forces in Manchuria and Korean resistance fighters including Kim Il - sung . The army was organized into Yang Jingyu ' s 1st Route Army , Zhou Baozhong ' s 2nd Route Army , and Li Zhaolin ' s 3rd Route Army . They claimed to have 45 , 000 members . Despite years of fighting , the army was gradually worn down by the pacification campaign of the Japanese . Yang Jingyu died on February 23 , 1940 , and Zhao Shangzhi was killed in 1942 , during a Japanese encirclement campaign . Remnants of the Army retreated into the USSR and were incorporated into the Soviet Red Army . In 1945 , they returned to Manchuria as part of the Red Army ' s invasion of Manchuria , with Zhou Baozhong as commander . Some army units of Manchukuo declared uprising to join the army . After World War II , most of its army was combined into the People ' s Liberation Army of China for the subsequent civil war . Affiliation . Officially , this army was led by the Chinese Communist Party . In reality , they did not directly to report to the CCP center in Yan ' an due to geographical separation . Their only contacts with the CCP in Yan ’ an were through the CCP representatives in the Communist International , Kang Sheng and Wang Ming . Japanese created a strip of “ No Man Land ” to prevent the CCP - led Eighth Route Army from infiltrating Manchuria . They were supported and instructed by the USSR , which supported this army to tie up the forces of its potential Japanese enemy . Their uniforms were copies of the uniform of the Soviet Red Cross . Components . The army was a mixture of various sources , with the same objective – expelling Japanese out of Manchuria . They were communists , students and peasants , former troops of the warlord Zhang Xueliang , and even bandits . The former bandits played an important role in the guerrilla war by using their skills in the mountains . Most of the high and middle rank officers had Communist Party membership , including former bandit leaders . Koreans in the Northeast Anti - Japanese United Army . The army contained a large number of ethnic Koreans , both the Koreans from Manchuria , and Koreans from the Korean Peninsula . By 1918 , there were virtually no organized armed revolts against Japanese colonisation on the Korean Peninsula and many Koreans chose Manchuria as a place to resist Japanese Imperialism . Two of the legendary “ Eight Girls Jumping Into the River ” were Korean Chinese . This was a squad of girl guerrillas , aged from 13 to 23 ; after a long firefight with overwhelming Japanese forces who mistook them for a much larger unit , finally they all jumped into the river , drowning themselves . Kim Il - Sung , later to become leader of North Korea , was a high - rank officer in this army , and attained a distinction that he invaded China - Korea border and attacked Japanese police station in Bochonbo 1939 . It was widely reported by Korean presses such as Donga Ilbo and he became famous in Korea as the most prominent leader of the anti - Japanese movement . After the war , some of the Korean nationals in this army became the first generation of the leaders of North Korea . Besides Kim Il - Sung , An Gil , Kim Chaek , Choi Yong - Geon and Kang Geon were also Korean high - rank officers of NAJUA , later assumed high positions in North Korea . Retreat to USSR . At the peak of NAJUA activity , NAJUA had a force of 10 , 000 troops . They launched the guerrilla warfare in the rear of Japanese army , who was invading the main land China . Japanese army realized that NAJUA was the main threat to their operation in the mainland China . So Japanese army , together with Manchukuo army , began the operations to sweep NAJUA in mid - 1930 . Like NAJUA , Manchkuo army included many Korean officers who pledged their loyalty to Japan . Such Korean officers were Park Chung - Hee , Baek Seon Yeop , and Jeong Il - Gwon , who later became the full generals in South Korean Army and ( after 5 . 16 coup ) high rank officials in South Korean government . And Manchkuo army had a special troop , Jiandao Teshedui ( 間島特設隊 , 간도특설대 ) , which consisted mainly of Koreans . They assumed the most difficult tasks to attack NAJUA . As the offensive of Japanese army got fierce , NAJUA suffered heavy casualty . Many of their soldiers were dead or taken prisoner . Moreover , Japanese military intelligence allured or tortured NAJUA prisoners to convert to Japanese side . The converted one assisted Japanese to attack their ex - comrades . In his autobiography , " Segiwa Deobuleo " ( 세기와 더불어 ) , Kim Il - Sung recalled that such conversions of ex - comrades were more painful than Japanese fierce offensive or tough climate in Manchuria . By these reasons , NAJUA could not make activities in Manchuria any more . By the order of CPC , NAJUA escaped to the USSR . There , they were formally incorporated to the Red Army , as the 88th International Brigade . But they kept the organization of NAJUA . The troops remaining in Manchuria were totally annihilated by Japanese . The escaped troops stayed in USSR until the war ended . After Japan surrendered , Koreans and Chinese went back to their own countries and began the revolutionary activities there . Contemporary Attitudes in the PRC and ROC . The Northeast Anti - Japanese United Army remains highly regarded on both sides of the Taiwan strait . However , in mainland China , this army is generally viewed as a CCP - led anti - Japanese outfit , while history books in Taiwan frequently admire the heroic deeds of the army without mentioning their relationship with CCP . A Chinese Communist leader , Peng Zhen , compared the extreme hardship suffered by the army with the Long March . Besides legendary commanders Yang Jingyu and Zhao Shangzhi , a female officer called Zhao Yiman ( 1905 – 1936 ) was also revered by many Chinese as a symbol of the national salvation .