Even though the joint forces of the North Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao- or as the Laotians called them, the Lao Viet-had occupied approximately two-thirds of Laos’ land area as early as 1962, they could only control roads and towns but not hilltops or the remote countryside, which were traditional Hmong habitats.The situation in Laos was a total opposite of that in South Vietnam, where the government forces controlled towns and cities, while the Viet Cong controlled the countryside.