How did Kim Il-Sung’s anti-Japanese resistance shape his rise to power?

Kim Il-Sung’s involvement in anti-Japanese resistance was instrumental in establishing his political legitimacy and securing his rise to power. During the 1930s, he joined the Korean guerrilla movement against the Japanese occupation, eventually adopting the name of a legendary Korean fighter to bolster his reputation.1

His resistance activities brought him to the attention of Soviet military authorities, who provided him with political and military training in the Soviet Union. By the end of World War II, he had served as a major in the Soviet army leading a Korean contingent. Upon returning to the Soviet-occupied northern half of Korea in 1945, he was positioned as a hero of the anti-Japanese struggle. This status, combined with direct support from the Soviet Union, allowed him to consolidate power, establish a communist provisional government, and eventually become the first premier of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948.12