[KS] North Korean Pilots had flown in Combat against the U.S. during the Vietnam War

[Charles K. Armstrong]

Dear Kwang-On,

This is interesting but I would hardly say North Korea was "deeply  
involved" compared to South Korea. North Korean pilots engaging  
American air power is reminiscent of Soviet pilots in the Korean War.  
Both the Soviets in the Korean War and the North Koreans in Vietnam  
kept their involvement quiet. In the North Korean case the call for  
restraint may have come from the North Vietnamese and Chinese, and  
perhaps the Soviets as well, who did not want to risk a wider war with  
the US. I came across a source that suggested Kim Il Sung offered to  
send more aid to North Vietnam, including combat troops, but Ho Chi  
Minh refused (exactly why is unclear). Chiang Kai-shek offered to send  
ROC troops but the Americans did not want to provoke the PRC. The fact  
remains that the ROK was the only non-Vietnamese, non-US ally on  
either side to send large numbers of front-line combat troops into the  
war.
-- 
Charles K. Armstrong
Professor of History
Director, Center for Korean Research
Columbia University
930 International Affairs Building
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027

Tel: 212-854-1721
Fax: 212-749-1497


Quoting Kwang On Yoo <lovehankook at gmail.com>:

> Not only South Koreans but North Koreans were also deeply involved in the
> Vietnam War.
>
> According to documents published on December 5, 2011 by The Woodrow Wilson
> International Center in Washington, D.C., not only did North Korea send
> pilots to Vietnam to fight against the U.S. but North Koreans spied on the
> South Korean troops' fighting tactics, techniques, combat readiness and
> morale at the same time.
>
> The Woodrow Wilson International Center's Documentation follows:
>
> *North Korean Pilots in the Skies over Vietnam:*
> http://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/nkidp-e-dossier-no-2-north-korean-pilots-the-skies-over-vietnam
>
>
> *North Koreans Spied on the South Korean Military in Vietnam:*
> http://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/romanian-document-confirms-north-korea-sent-troops-to-vietnam
>
>
> Kwang-On Yoo
>