The remains of independence activist and General Hong Beom-do will be returned from Kazakhstan on Liberation Day this Sunday.

In a Thursday briefing, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said the return will coincide with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's state visit to South Korea next week. 

A delegation led by Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Hwang Ki-chul will head to the country on Saturday. The spokesperson said a national mourning period will be observed Monday and Tuesday after which the remains will be enshrined at Daejeon National Cemetery. 

Hong, a hunter-turned-resistance-fighter, served as general commander of the Korean independence army, waging battles against occupying Japanese forces. 

He and his forces fled to the Soviet Union in 1921, only to be disarmed by Soviet forces before being forced to join other ethnic Koreans in a mass exodus to the  Kazakh and the Uzbek regions during the 1930s. Hong died in Kazakhstan in 1943. 

Meanwhile the Kazakh leader is set to visit for two days from Monday at President Moon Jae-in's invitation. The trip is expected to boost the countries’ strategic partnership ahead of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.