After escaping to Chongqing where Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist Government was established, Kim established the Korean Liberation Army, commanded by General Ji Cheong-cheon. When the Pacific War broke out on December 8, 1941, Kim Koo declared war on Japan and Germany and committed the Korean Liberation Army to the Allied side; the Korean Liberation Army took part in warfare in China and Southeast Asia. Kim arranged for the Korean Liberation Army to advance to Korea in 1945 but, days before the departure of the leading unit, the war ended.