Upon the end of the Second World War and Korea's liberation from Japan, Koreans had formed local governing bodies, called "people's committees," to maintain order in many different localities. When the Americans entered the South on September 8, 1945, they immediately sought to disband the people's committees. The restoration of the people's committees was declared in Kim Il Sung's first radio address after the Korean War broke out.[4]:269 The North Korean occupation's revival of people's committees was seen to symbolize independence from the Americans.