South Korea is upgrading its participation in a U.S., led international campaign to disrupt the traffic of weapons of mass destruction, a step it long avoided to prevent angering Pyongyang. The move comes after a nuclear test by the North, and several apparent short range missile launches.
韩国准备更多参与美国领导的切断大规模杀伤性武器走私的国际行动。韩国之前一直避免参与这些行动，以免激怒平壤。韩国在北韩进行核试验以及几次短程导弹试射后，采取了这一举动。
South Korea said Tuesday it will now participate fully in the U.S. - led Proliferation Security Initiative, or PSI. More than 90 nations take part in the program, which involves intelligence sharing and naval coordination to prevent nuclear and other illegal weapons from being transported. Until now, South Korea has only taken part as an observer.
韩国星期二表示，它将全面参与美国领导的《防扩散安全倡议》。有超过90个国家参加这个项目，这个项目的内容包括情报共享以及进行海军合作，防止核武器和其它非法武器的运输。截止到目前，韩国还只是以观察员的身份参与这个项目。
North Korea warned last month that it would view South Korea's full participation as a declaration of war. For weeks, South Korean officials delayed expected announcements it would join, but experts say they had no other choice after Monday's underground nuclear weapons test by the North.
北韩上个月警告说，它将把韩国全面参与这个项目视为对其宣战。韩国官员把将参与这个项目的预期声明推迟了几个星期，但是专家们表示，在北韩星期一进行地下核武器试验之后，韩国已经别无选择。
South Korean Foreign Minister Yoo Myung-hwan told lawmakers Tuesday joining PSI was the correct move for a "mature nation."
韩国外交部长柳明桓星期二对国会议员们表示，加入《防扩散安全倡议》是一个“成熟国家”的正确举措。
Yu said participating in PSI will help control North Korea's development of dangerous nuclear materials.
柳明桓说：“参加《防扩散安全倡议》将有助于控制北韩开发危险的核原料。”
Monday's nuclear test was North Korea's second, and according to seismic readings, may have been more powerful than the first. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak says he will work closely with the United States and other nations to seek a strong response.
星期一的核试验是北韩进行的第二次核试验，根据地震震级的读数，这次核试验可能比第一次威力当量更大。韩国总统李明博表示，他将和美国以及其他国家紧密合作，寻求对北韩做出强烈回应。
He says he believes it is necessary to let North Korea know having nuclear programs will prove to be a bigger disadvantage than not having them.
李明博说：“有必要让北韩知道，拥有核项目将证明比没有核项目对北韩更加不利。”
Separately, North Korea fired three short range missiles off its east coast Monday. On Tuesday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the North fired more short-range missiles off the same coast.
北韩星期一还向东海岸海域分别发射了3枚短程导弹。星期二，韩国联合通讯社报导说，北韩向同一海域又发射了3枚短程导弹。
Dan Pinkston, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, warned against reading too much into the missile launches as a political message. He says the launches are more likely aimed at enforcing a two-day ban on ships off its East coast North Korea issued on Monday.
丹·平克森是“国际危机小组”的一位高级分析师，他警告不要把北韩发射导弹做过多的政治解读。他说，那些发射更可能的目的在于执行北韩星期一发布的东海岸外为期两天的禁航令。
"They're just doing their military preparedness and doing their operational exercises and it's for those air defense purposes, and anti-ship purposes. That's what the system is for," Pinkston said.
他说：“他们只是在作军事方面的准备工作，并且进行演练，这是为了防空的目的，还有反舰艇。那就是这种系统的功用。”
North Korea experts suggest two main motivations for recent provocations. They say the North is seeking to raise the urgency of diplomacy with the North on the agenda of President Obama, so that Pyongyang can win concessions from Washington in one-on-one talks. Other analysts say North Korea has set aside diplomacy for now, and is sprinting toward full-fledged international recognition as a nuclear power, like India and Pakistan.
北韩问题专家提出两种看法，说明北韩近来采取挑衅行动的主要动机。他们说，北韩想要提升奥巴马总统和北韩进行外交接触的急迫性，以便让平壤在和华盛顿进行一对一的会谈中取得优势。另外有些专家说，北韩现在已将外交暂时搁置一旁，并且正在朝向让国际承认它作为一个和印度与巴基斯坦相同的核权力全力跃进。
At any rate, little optimism remains for the future of six-nation talks aimed at getting rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons. Brian Myers, a professor at Dongseo University who specializes in North Korean media, says the six-party framework is dead.
"They stress over and over again in domestic propaganda, 'we are not going back to the six party talks.' Now I realize that North Korea has said in the past has said in the past, it ain't coming back, and then it comes back anyway," Myers said. "But this is the first time I've seen it emphasized in the domestic media to that extent."
Myers says North Korea's attitude was probably shaped by the Obama administration's signals that it was willing to engage North Korea on a bilateral basis. |