朝鮮發展飛彈來自中國鄰居小小幫助

North Korea’s Been Building Missiles With A Little Help From Their Chinese Neighbors

北韓發展飛彈來自中國鄰居小小幫助

North Korea’s indigenous missile program is advancing rapidly, but it looks like they’ve had some help from their friends.

朝鮮的自製飛彈計劃正在迅速發展，但是看起來他們已經得到了朋友的幫助。

The North carried out around two dozen rocket and ballistic missile tests last year, and so far this year, it has launched at least seven.  They are making progress, but it looks like the parts for their weapons are not originating in North Korea.  Many of the essential components of North Korea’s ballistic missiles are foreign-made and were provided by companies operating out of China, reports the Washington Post.

北方去年進行了大約22次火箭與彈道飛彈試驗，今年迄今已發射至少7次。他們正在取得進展，但看起來他們的武器部分不是源於朝鮮。《華盛頓郵報》報導說，北韓的彈道飛彈的許多重要組成部分都是外國製造的，由在中國以外經營的公司提供。

North Korea launched an earth observation satellite into orbit in February of last year using an Unha-3 rocket, which some observers believe to be the predecessor of a potential North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile.  The North attached explosives to the various stages of the rocket to prevent other countries from recovering the parts after separation; nonetheless, South Korea was able to recover enough parts to reconstruct the rocket.

去年二月，北韓使用Unha-3火箭將地球觀測衛星發射到軌道，一些觀察家認為這是一個潛在的北韓洲際彈道飛彈的前身。朝鮮將爆炸物附加到火箭各節，以防止其他國家在火箭分離後回收零件；然而，韓國能夠回收足夠的零件重建火箭。

Post-recovery analysis revealed that the parts were not indigenously produced; rather, they were foreign-sourced components provided by firms in China, a recent United Nations report concluded.

最近聯合國報告得出結論，回溯分析顯示，這些零件沒在本土生產；相反的，他們是中國企業所提供的外購零件。

UN resolutions prohibit countries from exporting materials capable of being used to develop missiles and nuclear weapons to the North, which has threatened to use weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. and its allies on countless occasions.

聯合國決議禁止各國向北韓出口能夠於發展飛彈和核武器的材料，北韓多次威脅要對美國及其盟國使用大規模毀滅性武器。

More than 80 percent of all North Korean imports come from China, and while the Chinese government denies that its companies export illegal products, evidence suggests that this practice is not uncommon, especially in the border regions.  For instance, an Institute for Science and International Security report revealed that Shenyang Machine Tools Company in Northeastern China sent banned products to North Korea, a country with which the company maintains close ties, as recently as late 2015.

所有北韓進口品有80％來自中國，中國政府否認其公司出口違禁品，但證據表明，違禁品很常見，特別是在邊境地區。科學與國際安全研究所的一份報告顯示，中國東北的瀋陽機床公司和北韓保持著密切關係，在2015年底出口違禁產品。

Chinese middlemen have also reportedly been moving Western products into the North.  The products are sold to China on the condition that they not be shipped to North Korea, but Chinese companies have, at times, failed to uphold their end of the agreement.

據報中國掮客也將西方產品運往北韓。雖產品銷往中國的條件是不得轉運北韓，但中國企業常不遵守協議。

Whether the Chinese government is complicit in this situation or is simply unwilling to properly address the issue remains unclear.  For years, China has allegedly skirted UN resolutions and sanctions using loopholes.  While a nuclear North Korea armed with sophisticated ballistic missiles is as undesirable for China as it is for the U.S., Beijing prefers the stability of the present status quo to the chaos that could result from regime collapse or war.

中國政府在這種情況下，是同謀共犯或不願意妥善處理這個問題，目前還不清楚。多年來，中國在聯合國決議和制裁方面鑽漏洞。雖然北韓核武加上裝備複雜彈道飛彈，對中國與對美國來說都一樣不利，但北京更傾向於目前穩定的狀況，而不願見到其政權崩潰或戰爭造成的混亂。

What is clear, experts told the Washington Post, is that the parts that have entered North Korea via China have allowed the impoverished and isolated regime to develop weapons that it might not have otherwise been able to do on their own.

專家告訴《華盛頓郵報》，顯而易見的是，透過中國進入朝鮮的零件，使得貧窮和孤立的政權，可發展自己無法做到的武器。

China has, however, recently stepped up its efforts to rein in North Korea.

不過，中國最近加緊了對朝鮮的控制。

Last September, China arrested 11 corporate executives of Hongxiang Industrial Development Co., including founder Ma Xiaohong, for exporting dual-use products that can be used in the production of chemical weapons; however, Beijing pushed back when the U.S. sanctioned the company in a unilateral action.

去年9月，因出口可用於生產化學武器的軍民兩用產品，中國逮捕了紅翔實業發展有限公司的11名企業高管，包括創始人馬曉紅；然而，當美國片面採取懲罰該公司的行動時，北京予以抵擋。

China banned all shipments of coal — North Korea’s primary export — in February after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on China to “use all available tools” to rein in its neighbor, and just last week, as President Donald Trump was meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, China issued an order to its trading companies to return North Korean coal and turn away trade with North Korea.

中國已經禁止所有煤的採購，這是北韓的主要出口。在二月份，國務卿Tillerson呼籲中國「使用一切可用的工具」來控制鄰國。就在上週，川普總統會見中國習近平主席時，中國指令其貿易公司退回北韓的煤炭，並避免與朝鮮貿易。

Trump and Xi agreed to cooperate on the North Korea issue during a phone call Wednesday, but as such promises have gone unfulfilled in the past, only time will tell whether this time will be any different.

川普和習近平同意在星期三的電話中，就北韓問題達成合作，但是過去這樣的承諾從未曾實現。只有時間才能確定這一次是否會有所不同。（National Interest 20170413）