I think that may have been what the article was trying to claim. The Koreans learned from the Japanese, and the Soviets simply recruited these Koreans to set up

I think that may have been what the article was trying to claim. The Koreans learned from the Japanese, and the Soviets simply recruited these Koreans to set up the cult of personality around the Kim family. It doesn't matter that Kim Il Sung fought against the Japanese, the Soviets installed many of the same high-ranking Koreans that were previously doing propaganda for Japan, except they were doing propaganda for the Soviet puppet regime.