In December 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia with approximately 200,000 troops, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government in two weeks. On January 7, 1979, Vietnamese forces established the People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK) with Heng Samrin as president and Hun Sen as foreign minister. For Cambodians, this moment brought both relief and uncertainty. The genocide had ended, yet the country now faced occupation by its traditional rival.
Throughout the 1980s, Cambodia began a fragile recovery under Vietnamese oversight. The PRK government restored private property, reopened schools, and allowed Buddhist practices to resume. Cities repopulated, markets reopened, and internal trade flourished. Phnom Penh transformed from a ghost town into a city of 800,000 by 1989, with bustling markets and restaurants. Hundreds of Buddhist monasteries were restored, often with funds from Cambodians living overseas.
However, recovery faced severe constraints. Western countries, China, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) imposed a trade and aid embargo on the Vietnamese-backed government. The international community refused to recognize the PRK, instead seating a coalition of resistance groups at the United Nations that included the exiled Khmer Rouge. This diplomatic isolation severely limited Cambodia's ability to rebuild infrastructure, revive industry, or attract international investment.
Meanwhile, at least 500,000 Cambodians fled to Thailand, where they lived in border camps for years. Over 200,000 eventually resettled in the United States, France, Australia, and Canada. Another 300,000 remained in camps that served as both refugee centers and military bases for resistance factions. These camps, funded by international donors, provided food, medical care, and education while resistance groups continued fighting the PRK government.
The stalemate broke in the late 1980s. Changing global politics, particularly Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms and reduced Soviet aid to Vietnam, forced a reassessment. Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Hun Sen met five times between 1987 and 1989, transforming the conflict from a proxy war into a Cambodian civil dispute. Vietnam completed its troop withdrawal in September 1989. After intensive negotiations, the Paris Peace Agreements were signed on October 23, 1991, formally ending the conflict and paving the way for United Nations supervision and national elections.
This period demonstrates how Cambodia's recovery from genocide was complicated by Cold War politics, regional rivalries, and international diplomacy that prolonged suffering even as it aimed to resolve the crisis.