ABSTRACT
The plenum reaffirmed that priority would be given to building and consolidating socialism in the north, which would then serve as the base for the national democratic revolution in the south. Temporary failures could never affect the fighting spirit of the people and the Party. The rectification campaign, originally slated to conclude in March, was extended. It was not until November, when a series of provincial recapitulation conferences were held, that the campaign was concluded. The 12th Plenum concentrated most of its attention on the economy and, to a lesser extent, military modernisation. The 12th Plenum also reviewed the changing role of the military in national defence in the period since 1954. In brief, in early 1957 the Soviet Union approved of Viet-Nam's three-year plan of socialist construction and decided to support it with much-needed development assistance. The issue of Viet-Nam's unification was also a continual theme in public remarks by Voroshilov and Ho Chi Minh.
