Faced with increased American involvement, the Pathet Lao agreed in July 1962 to a pact that neutralized the country. But it soon became apparent that the North Vietnamese were operating as freely as before, particularly along the trail. When they arrived in the South, the North Vietnamese soldiers found frequent and encouraging welcomes among a disgruntled peasantry. Partial land reforms, effectively forced on Saigon by Kefauver in 1958, had stemmed the torrent of defections from the South Vietnamese peasants to the Viet Minh. Nevertheless, there were plenty of grievances still to air, and the North Vietnamese were effective in their appeals against Saigon’s gross corruption and its oppressive political apparatus. In fact, one American military analysis estimated that Emperor Bao’s government only effectively controlled 60 percent of the country. Even this precarious status was again threatened by the unimpeded flow of manpower and material from China and Laos that flowed down the trail.