Movement in the China-NK Relationship?

　　The relationship between China and North Korea has entered the spotlight in the days since the North’s long-range rocket misfire and its celebration of Kim Il Sung’s birth centennial last weekend.

　　朝鲜发射远程导弹失败以及它上个周末庆祝金日成(Kim Il Sung)百年诞辰以来的这几天，中国和朝鲜的关系成为了各方的关注焦点。

　　Diplomats at the United Nations and military experts are trying to determine whether China provided a missile-transport vehicle, seen in the Kim Il Sung celebration parade on Sunday, that carried an apparently new missile.

　　联合国的外交人士和军事专家们正试图搞清楚，朝鲜周日在庆祝金日成诞辰百年的阅兵仪式上展示的导弹运输车是否为中国所提供，该运输车装载着一种显然是新亮相的导弹。

　　The truck appears similar to those used to ferry missiles and rocket parts in China. If it was made in China, the country likely violated the 2009 U.N. sanctions aimed at preventing the advance of North Korea’s weapons program.

　　这种运输卡车看上去类似于中国运送导弹和火箭零部件的车辆。如果这种车确实产自中国，那么中国有可能违反了联合国2009年旨在防止朝鲜武器计划取得进展的制裁决议。

　　At a daily briefing on Thursday, China Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said: ’China is always against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the carrier equipment of such weapons. China actively abides by relevant Security Council resolutions and practices strict control of export control of non-proliferation materials.’

　　中国外交部发言人刘为民周四在每日例行的记者会上说：中方一贯坚决反对大规模杀伤性武器及其运载工具的扩散，我们也一贯严格地履行联合国安理会的相关决议并认真执行自身防扩散出口管制的法律法规。

　　Meanwhile, in what would be a stunning development if true, Chinese border guards and police have reportedly been told not to repatriate North Korean defectors and refugees who have escaped the country to China, according to Japanese media reports that cited provincial officials without using their names.

　　与此同时，据日本媒体报道，中国已下令边境警卫队和警察不要遣返从朝鲜逃到中国的“脱北者”和难民。日本媒体说，其报道的这一消息来自省级官员，但报道没有提及他们的名字。如果报道内容属实，这将是一个令人震惊的事态发展。

　　Those reports say China is easing its treatment of defectors as a penalty against the North Korea authoritarian regime for undertaking last week’s long-range missile launch, which Pyongyang called a rocket trying to reach space.

　　这些报道说，中国正在放宽对朝鲜“脱北者”的处理，以惩罚朝鲜独裁政权上周发射远程导弹的举动。平壤方面称这是一次旨在将卫星送入太空的火箭发射。

　　Chinese authorities and diplomats in Beijing have not confirmed those reports, but, given the country’s close relationship with North Korea, they are not considered likely to do so.

　　中国有关部门和驻北京的外交官们尚未证实这些报道，不过，鉴于中国与朝鲜的密切关系，外界认为中国不大可能放宽对朝鲜“脱北者”的处理。

　　China’s often-stated top goal in its relationship with North Korea is ’stability.’

　　中国在中朝关系方面经常强调的一个优先目标是“稳定”。

　　Andrei Lankov, the North Korea scholar at Seoul’s Kookmin University, told an audience in Seoul just before last week’s rocket launch, ’China will exercise mild pressure on North Korea, making sure the pressure will not become destabilizing.’

　　韩国国民大学(Kookmin University)的朝鲜问题专家兰科夫(Andrei Lankov)在朝鲜上周发射火箭前夕对首尔的一批听众说，中国将向朝鲜施加温和的压力，它会确保这些压力不会破坏中朝关系的稳定。

　　A public acknowledgement by Beijing that it provided vehicles or other materials in violation of U.N. sanctions, plus a direct explanation of its treatment of North Korean defectors, would mark a significant change in that ’mild pressure.’

　　如果北京公开承认它违反联合国制裁决议向朝鲜提供了车辆或其它物资，并对它处理朝鲜“脱北者”的做法做出直接解释，那将标志着中方的“温和压力”发生了重大改变。

　　Evan Ramstad