Editing Lê Duẩn (section)

==== Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia ====
{{further|Cambodian–Vietnamese War}}
The independent [[Kampuchean Communist Party]] (KCP) was established alongside the Vietnamese and Laotian parties following the dissolution of the [[Indochinese Communist Party]] in 1955. The Kampuchean movement was the weakest of the three. When the Vietnamese began formal military aid to the [[Khmer Rouge]] in 1970, the Khmer leadership remained skeptical. On the orders of Võ Chí Công two regiments were sent into Kampuchea. Võ Chí Công promised Khmer leader [[Ieng Sary]] that Vietnamese troops would withdraw when the conflict had been won by the communists. The entry of Vietnamese troops led many Vietnamese officials to believe that Khmer Rouge officials had begun "to fear something".{{sfn|Quinn-Judge|2002|p=166}} In a conversation with Phạm Hùng, Lê Duẩn told him that despite some differences in opinions, the "authentic internationalism and attitude" of the sides would strengthen their party-to-party relations. After reading reports by Võ Chí Công, Lê Duẩn probably concluded that "authentic internationalism" in Kampuchea was in trouble. At the time, the Vietnamese leadership hoped this situation would change, but privately they understood that the Kampuchean situation was different from the Lao situation.{{sfn|Quinn-Judge|2002|p=166}}

[[File:Hài cốt.jpg|thumb|right|The Ba Chuc massacre was perpetrated by the Kampuchean Revolutionary Army during one of their attacks on Vietnam in 1978]]
After [[Pol Pot]] and his supporters seized control of KCP in 1973, KCP/VCP relations deteriorated sharply. North Vietnamese formations that were active in Kampuchea during the [[Cambodian civil war|civil war]] were thereafter regularly attacked by their allies.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=96}} By 1976, while it appeared that Kampuchea/Vietnam relations were normalizing, private suspicions within the respective leaderships grew.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=97}} Lê Duẩn, [[Tôn Đức Thắng]], Trường Chinh and Phạm Văn Đồng sent messages congratulating the ascension of Pol Pot, [[Khieu Samphan]] and [[Nuon Chea]] as Premier, President of the Presidium and President of the Assembly of the People's Representative, respectively.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=93}} In turn, KCP sent a congratulatory message to the PRGRSV on its seventh anniversary. On 21 September 1976 a Vietnamese women's delegation visited Kampuchea and the KCP sent public greetings to the 4th National Congress.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=94}} The Vietnamese leadership hoped that pro-Vietnamese elements would develop within the KCP. When Kampuchean radio announced Pol Pot's resignation, Lê Duẩn and the Vietnamese leadership took it seriously.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=95}} During a meeting with the Soviet ambassador, Lê Duẩn told him that Pol Pot and Ieng Sary had been removed from the KCP leadership. The change was welcome to Vietnam, since the two were a "pro-Chinese sect conducting a crude and severe policy."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=96}} Lê Duẩn added that "these were bad people [the KCP leadership headed by Pol Pot]", but that Nuon Chea was "our man and is my personal friend."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=96}} All-out confrontation was not planned and Lê Duẩn still believed that state-to-state relations could improve. He further noted that Kampuchea would eventually become like Laos, a [[socialist state]], and value its relationship with Vietnam and the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=98}}

On 30 April 1977, [[Democratic Kampuchea]] attacked several Vietnamese villages in [[An Giang Province]], most notably in the [[Ba Chúc massacre]]. The Vietnamese leadership was shocked by this unprovoked attack and counterattacked.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=98}} Vietnam still sought improved relations and when Pol Pot, on 27 September 1977, announced the existence of the KCP, Vietnam sent a congratulatory note. In a conversation with the Soviet ambassador on 6 October, Lê Duẩn had no explanation for Kampuchea's actions.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=99}} He described the leadership as "strongly nationalistic and under strong influence of Peking [China]."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=100}} Lê Duẩn called Pol Pot a [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] while claiming that Ieng Sary was "a fierce nationalist and pro-Chinese."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=100}} He erroneously believed that Nuon Chea and [[Son Sen]] harbored pro-Vietnamese views.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=100}}

{{rquote|right|"The Pol Pot – Ieng Sary clique have proved themselves to be the most disgusting murderers in the later half of this century. Who are behind these hangmen whose hands are smeared with the blood of the Kampuchean people, including the [[Cham people|Cham]], who have been almost wiped out as an ethnic group, the [[Viet people|Viet]] and the [[Hoa people|Hoa]]? This is no mystery to the world. The Pol Pot – Ieng Sary clique are only a cheap instrument of the bitterest enemy of peace and mankind. Their actions are leading to national suicide. This is genocide of a special type. Let us stop this self-genocide! Let us stop genocide at the hands of the Pol Pot – Ieng Sary clique! | An editorial featured in ''[[Nhân Dân]]'', the party newspaper and the largest paper in Vietnam{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=105}}|}}

On 31 December 1977, Kampuchea broke relations with Vietnam, stating that the "aggressor forces" from Vietnam sent had to be withdrawn. This was needed to "restore the friendly atmosphere between the two countries."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=102}} While they accused Vietnam of aggression, the real problem all along was the Vietnamese leadership' plan, or ideal, of establishing a Vietnamese-dominated Indochinese Federation. Vietnamese troops withdrew from the country in January, taking thousands of prisoners and civilian refugees.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=102}} While the point of the Vietnamese attack had been to dampen the Kampuchean leadership's aggressive stance, it had the opposite effect – the Kampuchean leadership treated it as a major victory over Vietnam, matching their victory over the Americans. Kampuchea did not respond to diplomatic overtures and began another attack.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=103}} Vietnam responded by promoting an uprising against Pol Pot's rule{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=105}} and invaded.{{sfn|Morris|1999|pp=106–107}}

On 15 June 1978, the VCP Politburo sent a request to the Soviet Union to allow a delegation headed by Lê Duẩn to meet with [[Leonid Brezhnev]] and the Soviet leadership in general. In a meeting with the Soviet ambassador in September, Lê Duẩn said that Vietnam intended "to solve fully this question [of Kampuchea] by the beginning of 1979."{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=108}} Lê Duẩn did not believe that China would retaliate because it would have to send its forces by sea, although China did attack in 1979, but chose Vietnam as its target. He claimed that Vietnam had little time and that waiting would benefit China. He further claimed that Vietnam had established nine battalions of Khmer deserters and that it was seeking Sao Pheum to lead them. In fact, Sao Pheum had been dead for three months. Lê Duẩn still believed that Nuon Chea was a friend of Vietnam, despite his largely anti-Vietnam speech.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=109}} Nuon Chea and Son Sen remained staunch Pol Pot supporters until the 1990s.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=110}}

Vietnam sent 13 divisions into the country on 25 December 1978, with an estimated 150,000 soldiers supported by heavy artillery and air power. Kampuchea attempted a conventional defense, but this tactic led to the loss of half of its army within two weeks. The defeats prompted much of the Kampuchean leadership to evacuate to the western region of the country. On 7 January 1979, the PAVN and the [[Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation]] entered Phnom Penh. On the following day, a pro-Vietnamese state, known as the [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]] (PRK), was established, with [[Heng Samrin]] as head of state and [[Pen Sovan]] as General Secretary of the [[Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party]]. The struggle between the Khmer Rouge and the PRK ended only with Vietnam's withdrawal in 1989.{{sfn|Morris|1999|p=111}}