Pyongyang urges foreigners to leave South

　　North Korea has urged foreigners in South Korea to leave the country to ensure their safety in case of war, as tensions escalate on the Korean peninsula.

　　朝鲜敦促外国人撤离韩国，以确保他们在万一发生战争时的安全。目前朝鲜半岛紧张局势继续升级。

　　“We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war,” the official KCNA news agency quoted Pyongyang as saying yesterday.

　　“朝鲜不愿意看到这场战争使在南朝鲜的外国人遭受损害，”官方的朝鲜中央通讯社(KCNA)昨日援引平壤方面的声明称。

　　“Foreign institutions, companies and tourists in Seoul and other parts of the country should set up plans to take shelter and devise a way to evacuate,” KCNA said.

　　“在首尔和南朝鲜其它地方的外国机构、企业和游客，应拟订隐蔽计划并安排撤离事宜，”朝中社表示。

　　The US could intercept a North Korean ballistic missile, the US commander in the Pacific said yesterday, but the Pyongyang regime was still a “clear and direct threat to the US”.

　　美国太平洋司令部(USPACOM)司令昨日表示，美国能够拦截朝鲜的弹道导弹，但平壤政权仍是“对美国既明显又直接的威胁”。

　　Admiral Samuel Locklear, speaking at a congressional hearing in Washington, said that the relationship between the west and North Korea was as bad as it had been since the Korean war.

　　海军上将塞缪尔•洛克利尔(Samuel Locklear)在华盛顿美国国会的一个听证会上表示，西方与朝鲜之间的关系已经恶化到朝鲜战争以来最糟糕的程度。

　　The North has made bellicose statements in recent weeks as the US and South Korea have held planned military exercises. Relations with Pyongyang have rapidly deteriorated since the UN imposed sanctions on North Korea after the communist state conducted a third nuclear test in February.

　　近几周，在美韩按预定计划举行联合军演之际，朝鲜不断发布好战声明。自联合国针对朝鲜在2月份进行的第三次核试验出台制裁措施以来，国际社会与这个共产党国家的关系快速恶化。

　　“The US and warmongers in Seoul are in the process of amassing weapons of mass destruction in the South and waiting for the opportunity to strike,” North Korea said yesterday.

　　“美国和南朝鲜傀儡好战分子正在南朝鲜集结大批大规模杀伤性武器，窥伺挑起侵朝战争的机会，”朝鲜昨日的声明表示。

　　Some analysts say Pyongyang wants to manufacture a crisis to get concessions from the US and South Korea – repeating a pattern that once prompted Robert Gates, the former US defense secretary, to say the US did not want to “buy the same horse twice”. In a sign that South Korea is becoming increasingly frustrated, President Park Geun-hye appeared to take a similar line yesterday.

　　一些分析人士表示，平壤方面有意故伎重演，即制造一场危机，以便从美国和韩国捞到一些好处。美国前国防部长罗伯特•盖茨(Robert Gates)在谈到这一模式时曾表示，美国不希望“一匹马买两次”。突显韩国也变得越来越不耐烦的一个迹象是，韩国总统朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)昨日摆出类似立场。

　　“When [Pyongyang] creates tension, we give them compromise and aid. How long should we repeat this vicious cycle?” she said.

　　“每次北韩制造紧张局面，我方都要给他们妥协和援助。这样的恶性循环要重复到什么时候?”朴槿惠表示。

　　The South Korean foreign ministry said no embassies in Seoul had advised staff to leave despite the latest warning. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, the two Japanese carriers, said they had no plans to cancel flights. Seoul’s Incheon airport said no flights had been redirected in response to the rhetoric.

　　韩国外交部表示，尽管朝鲜发出最新警告，但没有一个常驻首尔的外国使馆安排人员撤离。日本航空(Japan Airlines)和全日空(All Nippon Airways)这两家日本航空公司均称不计划取消航班。首尔的仁川国际机场(Incheon airport)表示，没有因为朝鲜的言论而指示任何航班备降其他机场。

　　The South’s defence ministry said it was ready to counter any provocations. But it said there were no signs of North Korea preparing its 1.2m-strong army for war. Korean government officials said the possibility of all-out war was still low although North Korea may provoke some small-scale conflicts.

　　韩国国防部表示，已准备好还击任何挑衅行为。但该部门称，没有迹象显示朝鲜正动员其兵力超过120万的军队准备开战。韩国政府官员表示，全面战争的可能性仍较小，尽管朝鲜可能挑起某些小规模冲突。

　　Ban Ki-Moon, UN secretary-general, said yesterday that tensions on the peninsula risked slipping out of control. “A small incident caused by miscalculation or misjudgment may create an uncontrollable situation.”

　　联合国秘书长潘基文(Ban Ki-Moon)昨日表示，朝鲜半岛紧张局势可能失控。“由误解或误判引起的一个局部事件，可能引发失控的局面，”他表示。

　　Pyongyang has recently nullified the armistice reached with Seoul at the end of the war. Last week, Pyongyang advised foreign embassies to consider evacuating staff from the capital by today – ahead of the April 15 anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung – warning it could not protect them in case of war.

　　朝鲜最近废止了朝鲜战争结束时与韩国达成的停战协议。上周，朝鲜建议常驻平壤的外国使馆考虑最迟在今日(4月10日)撤离人员——赶在4月15日朝鲜开国领袖金日成(Kim Il-sung)诞辰纪念日之前，警告称，若发生战争将无法保证这些人的安全。

　　Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan would closely consult its allies in preparation for a possible missile launch. Meanwhile China said it did not want to see chaos on the Korean peninsula.

　　日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)表示，日本将与盟国密切磋商，准备应对朝鲜可能发射的导弹。与此同时，中国表示不希望看到朝鲜半岛出现战乱。