"What is the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize controversy about involving Le Duc Tho?"

Tho, Le Duc (1911-1990) born Phan Dinh Khai in Nam Ha province, Vietnam, Le Duc Tho was a founder of the Indochinese Community Party (1930) and a leader of the Vietminh (a group that sought Vietnamese independence from the French) and the Communist Party (revived as the Vietnam Workers' Party). Tho was the senior Viet Minh official in southern Vietnam until 1954, and a member of the Politburo of the Vietnam Workers' Party (the Communist Party of Vietnam after 1976) from 1955 on, overseeing the Vietcong insurgency that began in the late 1950s. He is remembered in the West for his role in the cease-fire as special advisor to the North Vietnamese delegation to the Paris Peace Conferences between 1968 and 1973, for which he was a corecipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974 with Henry Kissinger. Tho, however, did not accept the honor. He remained a member of the Politburo until 1986.

Tho, Le Duc (1911-1990) born Phan Dinh Khai in Nam Ha province, Vietnam, Le Duc Tho was a founder of the Indochinese Community Party (1930) and a leader of the Vietminh (a group that sought Vietnamese independence from the French) and the Communist Party (revived as the Vietnam Workers' Party). Tho was the senior Viet Minh official in southern Vietnam until 1954, and a member of the Politburo of the Vietnam Workers' Party (the Communist Party of Vietnam after 1976) from 1955 on, overseeing the Vietcong insurgency that began in the late 1950s. He is remembered in the West for his role in the cease-fire as special advisor to the North Vietnamese delegation to the Paris Peace Conferences between 1968 and 1973, for which he was a corecipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974 with Henry Kissinger. Tho, however, did not accept the honor. He remained a member of the Politburo until 1986.

Paris Peace Accords
The United States actively joined the Vietnam War during the early 1960s. Several rounds of Paris Peace Talks (some public, some secret) were held between 1969 and 1973. While Xuan Thuy led the official negotiating team representing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at the talks in Paris, Lê and U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger since February 1970 engaged in secret talks that eventually led to a cease-fire in the Paris Peace Accords of January 23, 1973. The basic history of the Accords included: release of POWs within 80 days; ceasefire to be monitored by the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICC); free and democratic elections to be held in South Vietnam; U.S. aid to South Vietnam would continue; DRV troops could remain in South Vietnam.

While January 23 is generally recognized as the enactment date of the Peace Accords, the talks continued out of necessity. Sporadic fighting continued in some regions. While U.S. ground forces were removed by March 29, bombing continued in North Vietnam. Due to continued allegations of ceasefire violations by all sides, Kissinger and Lê Ðức Thọ met in Paris in May and June 1973 for the purpose of getting the implementation of the peace agreement back on track. On June 13, 1973, the United States and the DRV signed a joint communique pledging mutual support for full implementation of the Paris Accords.