Kim Il-sung a Freedom Fighter, Committee Chair Says

The chairman of a committee on liberation anniversary events said Monday a partisan group against the Japanese occupation led by former North Korean strongman Kim Il-sung should be seen as part of the independence movement. "It's a historical fact that Kim Il-sung led an anti-Japanese movement," Kang Man-gil told a reporter. "An independence movement must be seen as an independence movement. Debate over socialism and other issues comes later."

Kang also said North-South cooperation to preserve pre-historic Koguryo tomb murals was part of celebrations to mark 60 years since the Korean Peninsula regained its freedom. "This is something agreed upon with the North's Historical Society, and work will begin from next year," he said.

He said Seoul also agreed with Pyongyang to hold an academic conference marking the 100th anniversary of the Ulsa Protectorate Treaty of 1905, under which Korea was forced to sign away its sovereignty. He said the two countries planned a pan-Korean "Love Dokdo" campaign to drum up interest in the islets coveted by Japan.