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

[Balazs Szalontai]

Thai combat troops (officially volunteers, totaling about 20.000 or more) were deployed in the Laotian theater of the Second Indochina War, where there were no U.S. ground forces save 600 Special Forces soldiers. Later Thailand also sent some troops to Cambodia (in 1970). Probably this is why Thai involvement in South Vietnam was far more marginal than that of the ROKA troops (who did not fight in Laos or Cambodia). One might call it a kind of division of labor.

North Korea's direct military contribution was far less significant than that of South Korea, but the term "deep involvement" is valid enough. In 1966-68, the peak years of North Korean economic assistance to the DRV, the DPRK provided more aid per annum to Hanoi than any of the pro-Soviet East European countries save Poland, though the latter had higher living standards and lower military expenditures than North Korea. Notably, neither South Korea nor the other Asian combat allies of the U.S. provided economic aid to South Vietnam from their own resources, since they themselves sought to obtain external economic assistance through their involvement in VN.

All the best,
Balazs Szalontai 

--- On Tue, 17/4/12, jiyulkim at gmail.com <jiyulkim at gmail.com> wrote:




  

    
  
  
    The South Korean presence in the Vietnam War was more important than
    being about a tenth of the US forces. In my study I estimated in
    terms of combat forces, those who actually fought the enemy and
    determined that 20% of the infantry combat power on the ground was
    Korean at the height (67-68) of the war. It was a significant
    contribution. This was because while most of the American forces
    were "tail" that provided support, most of the Koreans were "heads"
    that received support from MACV. Thai forces did not see combat.
    After Koreans the Australians were the largest contingent.

    

    Jiyul Kim

    

    

    

    On 4/17/2012 2:08 PM, don kirk wrote:
    
      
        
          
            
              Soviet role in Korean War, notably pilots but also
                some advisers, was far far higher than that of NKorean
                pilots in Vietnam. Role of the latter was indeed minor
                -- not so the  Soviets in Korean War. They did a lot.
                Yes, SKorean contingent was the largest, about a tenth
                that of the U.S., but Thailand sent a division and
                Aussies also had a rather large force -- albeit much
                smaller than the SKoreans. (Philippines had a civic
                action group in which Fidel Ramos served as a lieutenant
                fresh out of West Point.)
              Don

                

                --- On Tue, 4/17/12, Charles K. Armstrong <cra10 at columbia.edu>
                wrote:

              
              

                From: Charles K. Armstrong <cra10 at columbia.edu>

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

                To: koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws

                Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 11:11 AM

                

                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

                  > 

                  

                  

                  

                
              
            
          
        
      
    
  

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