The founder of WikiLeaks said he still intends to publish some of the 15,000 Afghan war documents remaining in his possession, despite a Pentagon demand to return them to U.S. authorities.

Participating by video link in a panel discussion in London , WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said WikiLeaks is about "halfway through" the process of editing the documents to prepare them for publication.

"Absolutely," he replied when asked whether he still plans to publish the documents.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)

WikiLeaks earlier published some 76,000 U.S. military documents about the Afghan war, leaked by a source that the Web site has refused to identify. The U.S. says it is investigating army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning as a possible source of the leak.

The documents include battlefield reports about skirmishes and casualties, and also intelligence reports that include information provided to the U.S. military by Afghan civilians.

WikiLeaks has been criticized by the Pentagon and some human rights groups for failing to delete the names of some Afghan civilians before publishing the first batch of documents. The Taliban has said it will punish anyone who has helped the U.S. military.

Mr. Assange said some of the criticism has been "legitimate," but repeated his earlier call for the Pentagon and human rights groups to help him redact the names. "So far there has been no assistance," he said.

He expressed some ambivalence about the need to protect Afghans who have helped the U.S. military. "We are not obligated to protect other people's sources," including sources of "spy organizations or militaries," unless it's from "unjust retribution," he said, adding that the Afghan public "should know about" people who've engaged in "genuinely traitorous" acts.

Mr. Assange said he still fears that the U.S. is trying to have him arrested for publishing the classified documents. He was meant to appear in person at the panel discussion about the media at London 's Frontline Club, but dialled in by Skype instead. Asked by an audience member for his current location, he said "no comment." He appeared to have dyed his trademark white hair brown, and to have cut it in a close crop.

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