韩国：朝鲜或准备发射卫星

South Korea was forced to halt an attempted satellite launch on Thursday, at a time when speculation is rising that North Korea is preparing to breach a UN Security Council resolution with its own launch.

就在韩国周四不得不中止一次卫星试射之时，越来越多人猜测，朝鲜正准备违反联合国安理会(UN Security Council)决议，自行发射卫星。

The launch, halted minutes before the scheduled take-off, had already been postponed from October due to the late arrival of parts from Russia. Cho Yul-rae, vice minister of science and technology, told reporters that a technical problem had resulted in “abnormal signals from the steering mechanism of the rocket. No subsequent launch date was given.

韩国的这次发射在原定点火时间前几分钟时被中止。这次原定于10月份举行的发射已经推迟过一次，上次推迟是因为来自俄罗斯的零部件未能如期抵达。韩国科学技术部副部长赵律来(Cho Yul-rae)周四在记者会上表示，一个技术问题导致火箭操纵装置发出“不正常信号。会上没有提到下次发射的日期。

The abrupt cancellation, which followed two failed attempts to send satellites into space in 2009 and 2010, is a mild embarrassment for a country that prides itself on its technological prowess. More importantly, it raises the possibility of Pyongyang winning a propaganda coup by executing the first successful satellite launch from the Korean Peninsula.

韩国在2009年和2010年两次尝试发射卫星，均以失败告终。这次突然取消发射对于一个标榜自己为科技强国的国家来说，是场不大不小的尴尬。最重要的是，这加大了朝鲜通过成功发射朝鲜半岛上第一颗卫星来赢得宣传优势的可能性。

A senior South Korean foreign ministry official told the Financial Times this week that Seoul believes North Korea is in advanced preparations for a launch, having seen satellite images from its rocket site at Sohae, near the Chinese border. However, he added that it was not clear when or whether this would happen. The official said a launch might be intended as a show of force aimed at South Korea’s next president, who will take office in February following an election next month.

韩国外交部一名高级官员本周向英国《金融时报》表示，韩国政府在看过朝中边境附近的朝鲜西海火箭发射场(Sohae)的卫星照片后，认为朝鲜已经在进行卫星发射前的准备工作。不过，他补充道，还不能确定朝鲜是否会发射卫星、会在何时发射卫星。这名官员表示，朝鲜计划发射卫星可能是为了给韩国新任总统一个下马威。下个月韩国将举行总统选举，新总统将于明年2月份就职。

North Korea argues that it is just as entitled to launch satellites as its southern rival. However, it is banned from doing so under a 2006 resolution by the UN Security Council forbidding it from using ballistic missile technology – similar to satellite launch technology – issued after Pyongyang claimed to have tested a nuclear warhead.

朝鲜主张，自己与其南方的竞争对手一样有权发射卫星。不过，根据安理会2006年通过的一项决议，朝鲜不能使用弹道导弹技术。发射卫星的技术与之类似，因此朝鲜也不能发射卫星。2006年那项决议是在朝鲜政府宣称已试射一枚核弹头后通过的。

The security council condemned a failed launch by Pyongyang in April, which resulted in the breakdown of an aid agreement with the US. This followed previous abortive long-range rocket launches in 2006 and 2009. North Korea rejected the criticism, saying it would “expand and bolster its weapons programme “as long as this hostile [US] policy goes on.

今年4月，朝鲜进行了一次失败的卫星试射，导致安理会对其发出谴责，以及与美国的一项援助协议告吹。此前，朝鲜在2006年和2009年曾两次试射远程火箭，但均告失败。朝鲜对外界的批评置若罔闻，声称“只要（美国）还在继续推行目前这种不友善的政策，它就将“扩大并加强其武器计划。

Also on Thursday, South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency quoted a senior Seoul official as saying that the North Korean defence chief, Kim Jong-gak, appeared to have been replaced by Kim Kyok-shik, a general. If this is the case, he would be the latest of several high-ranking officials to be replaced since Kim Jong-eun succeeded his father as the supreme leader last December. Analysts say that the young leader may be trying to reduce the clout of a group of soldiers who rose to influence under his father’s “military first policy.

此外，韩国官方通讯社韩联社(Yonhap)周四援引韩国一名高级官员的话说，朝鲜人民武装力量部部长似已换人，原部长金正阁(Kim Jong-gak)似已被将军金格植(Kim Kyok-shik)取代。自去年12月接替其父担任朝鲜最高领导人以来，金正恩(Kim Jong-eun)已更换数名高官，如果韩联社的消息属实，金正阁将是其中最新一例。分析人士表示，这名年轻的领导人可能正在试图打压军人的势力，军人在其父“军事优先的政策下势力大增。