North Vietnam was officially called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam between 1945 and 1976.
North Vietnam , officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( DRV ) , was a state in Southeast Asia which existed from 1945 to 1976 . Vietnamese revolutionary leader Hồ Chí Minh declared independence from France on 2 September 1945 and announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam . The Paris Peace Accords , officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam , was a peace treaty signed on January 27 , 1973 to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War . Vietnam . Thereafter , Vietnam was divided politically into two rival states , North Vietnam ( officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ) , and South Vietnam ( officially the Republic of Vietnam ) .