During the monsoons of summer 1979, the Khmer Rouge troops began filtering back into Cambodia. Many young Cambodians joined the Khmer Rouge forces, wanting to drive the Vietnamese Army out. Boosted by the new Chinese supplies, the Khmer Rouge rebuilt its military structure in early 1980. By mid-1980, the Khmer Rouge claimed it had 40,000 troops active in Cambodia. From 1981, Pol Pot's main goal was to attract popular support among the Cambodian population, believing that this would be vital in enabling him to win the war. In August 1981, he travelled, via Bangkok, to Beijing, where he met with Deng and Zhao Ziyang. Deng had been pushing for Sihanouk, living in Pyongyang, to become Cambodian head of state, something the monarch had reluctantly agreed to in February 1981. In September, Sihanouk, Samphân, and Son Sann issued a joint statement in Singapore announcing the formation of their own coalition government.