During World War II, Nguyen Duc Quy abandoned his studies to take up journalism and became involved in nationalist politics. In 1942, he joined the Indochinese Communist Party and was serving as secretary to Vo Nguyen Giap in secure zones in northern Vietnam by the end of the war. During this time, he helped locate and extricate downed American pilots. Following the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), he worked in the Ministry of Defense. In late 1945, he accompanied Pham Ngoc Thach to Bangkok to serve as a diplomatic secretary there. The government sent Quy back to Thailand in 1946 as the head the government’s diplomatic delegation in Bangkok in charge of relations with South and Southeast Asia. He arrived there in 1946, as tensions mounted with the French in Indochina and negotiations stalled in France. During his time in Bangkok, Nguyen Duc Quy met with both American and Soviet representatives and served as the point man in the government’s relations with much of Asia and the world. He spoke fluent Thai and maintained relationships with both the Seri Thai led by Pridi Banomyong and his adversary Pibun Songgram. Nguyen Duc Quy was particularly close to Thongin Phuriphat, who was pivotal in the opening of the DRV’s diplomatic mission in 1946. The coming of the Cold War made it harder for the Vietnamese to maintain their diplomatic office, however. Nguyen Duc Quy was finally forced to leave Thailand in 1951 following the Thai recognition of the Associated State of Vietnam led by Bao Dai, under increasing American pressure. In February 1952, the DRV transferred Nguyen Duc Quy to Moscow where he served as the first secretary to its newly formed Embassy in the Soviet Union. See also LE HY; TRAN NGOC DANH.