 Sihanouk's own version of the Front's formation, published while it was still in existence, is rather different from versions given by later commentators.He stated that he had immediately decided to form a
Government of National Union while on the plane between Moscow and Beijing, and that he was pleased to receive a message, dated three days after his subsequent radio broadcast, from the three "leading
Khmers Rouges [...] three of our outstanding intellectuals" – Hou Yuon, Hu Nim and Khieu Samphan, all three of whom had been involved with Sihanouk's "Sangkum" in the 1960s.In fact, it seems that Sihanouk arrived in Beijing uncertain as to what his next move should be, and it was only after a secret March 21
meeting with premier Pham Van Dong of North Vietnam and Zhou Enlai – the latter being a longstanding supporter of Sihanouk – that
he finally decided to ally himself with the Cambodian communists he had been fighting for the past decade; it seems likely that a desire for revenge on Lon Nol, pride, and possible suspicions of an American
role in the coup may have precipitated the decision.