Why did Le Duc Tho decline the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize?

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Le Duc Tho, a North Vietnamese politician and negotiator, was jointly awarded the 1973 Nobel Prize for Peace alongside U.S. official Henry Kissinger for their efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Vietnam War.123

Tho voluntarily declined the award, stating that "peace has not yet been established". His refusal reflected the reality that the conflict in Vietnam had not reached a definitive or lasting resolution at the time the prize was conferred. He remains one of only two individuals to have voluntarily refused a Nobel Prize, the other being Jean-Paul Sartre.42