system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What was the difference between the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA)?
gpt
View cong were "irregular" guerilla fighters that recruited from the south Vietnamese population. They were not officially part of any government and weren't all that concerned with things like uniforms and formal rank.

The NVA was a "regular" military force under the direct control of the north Vietnamese government, and supplied with uniforms, pay, rank, ect.