朝韓應抓住冬奧會契機努力改善關係

As athletes and fans gather in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics, the words of Pierre du Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games, have a particular resonance that goes far beyond the sporting arena: “L’important, c’est du participer,” — “It’s the taking part that counts.”

在運動員和體育愛好者齊聚韓國平昌參加和觀看冬奧會(Winter Olympics)之際，“現代奧運之父”皮埃爾?顧拜旦(Pierre de Coubertin)的那句名言——“重在參與”——引起了特別的共鳴，包括在競技場以外的地方。

North and South Korean athletes will march together in the opening ceremony under a neutral banner called the Korean Peninsula Flag and a joint women’s ice hockey team will compete in the games. This symbolic gesture of reconciliation and joint teamwork is powerful in itself, but it also offers a unique chance for meaningful progress behind the scenes to help resolve the nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula.

在開幕式上，朝鮮和韓國運動員將在中立的“朝鮮半島旗”下共同入場，朝韓聯合組建的女子冰球隊將參加比賽。這種和解與團隊協作的象徵性姿態本身是很有力量的，也爲幕後取得真正意義上的進展提供了獨特的機會，將幫助化解朝鮮半島核緊張局勢。

North Korea’s decision to send Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, to the opening ceremony, together with Kim Yong-nam, the chair of the Supreme People’s Assembly, is encouraging for hopes of diplomatic engagement and rapprochement.

朝鮮決定派出金正恩(Kim Jong Un)的妹妹金與正(Kim Yo Jong)以及朝鮮最高人民會議(Supreme People’s Assembly)常任委員會委員長金永南(Kim Yong Nam)參加冬奧會開幕式，這使人們不由得期待兩國能夠實現外交接觸與和解。

The need could not be more acute. For the past quarter of a century, the focus of the international community’s efforts has been on preventing North Korea becoming a nuclear-armed state. But it may now be the case that the north has entered the final stage of completing the ICBM technology that can reach and hit the continental US loaded with a miniaturised nuclear warhead.

這種需求不能更迫切了。過去25年來，國際社會一直尋求阻止朝鮮成爲一個核武國家，但現在朝鮮可能已經進入了發展完備的洲際彈道導彈技術的最後階段，這種導彈搭載小型化核彈頭將可以抵達並打擊美國本土。

The objective is unchanged; achieving complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement of North Korean nuclear weapons and programmes. But the immediate challenge is to achieve that objective in a way that avoids conflict and further nuclear proliferation in the region and beyond. There is also a longer-term need for a new, regional security framework in North-East Asia to replace the fragile, temporary peacekeeping arrangements that have existed since the end of the Korean war.

目標沒有變化：以完全、可覈查和不可逆轉的方式結束朝鮮的核武器及計劃。但眼下的挑戰在於實現這些目標的同時如何避免衝突和該地區以及其他地區進一步的核擴散。此外，較長期來看，東北亞地區需要制定新的地區安全框架，替代自朝鮮戰爭結束以來脆弱、暫時的維持和平安排。

Diplomats and security experts worldwide warn that the risk of a devastating war is unprecedented. Last month, the Doomsday Clock was reset at two minutes to midnight — the closest to midnight it has been in 65 years.

全球外交人士和安全專家警告稱，爆發毀滅性戰爭的風險是空前的。上月，末日時鐘(Doomsday Clock)被調整爲距離子夜兩分鐘，是65年來距離子夜最近的時刻。

We know from experience how critical it is to recognise — and then seize — unexpected moments to try and change a dangerous trajectory of events. The Olympic detente could be such a moment. We welcome the gesture of bilateral North-South talks that Kim Jong Un offered in his annual New Year’s Day address. While the three rounds of talks held so far have mainly focused on the modalities of the North’s participation in the Winter Olympics, further talks on security-related confidence-building measures have also been agreed.

經驗告訴我們，認識並抓住意外出現的時機、努力改變危險的局勢發展軌道是多麼重要。冬奧會上朝韓關係緩和可能就是這樣一個時刻。我們歡迎金正恩在一年一度的新年講話中表現出的願意進行韓朝雙邊對話的姿態。儘管迄今三輪韓朝會談主要圍繞朝鮮以什麼方式參加本屆冬奧會，但兩國也同意就與安全相關的增強信任措施舉行進一步會談。

All parties must use this Olympic moment to nurture a positive atmosphere that enables a genuine dialogue to continue, including bilateral military talks. We must make sure that after the Paralympics end, in March, the goodwill does not disappear as fast as the winter snow melts.

所有各方必須利用這種奧運時刻營造積極氣氛，讓雙方能夠繼續進行包括雙邊軍事談判在內的真正對話。我們必須確保，在今年3月殘奧會結束後，善意不會像冬雪融化一樣迅速消失。

In this regard, North Korea’s military parade on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Games was provocative, harming the positive mood. At this critical time, all concerned must avoid inflammatory rhetoric and military activities. Patient diplomacy and sustained engagement can yield results, as we have seen with the Iran nuclear agreement, negotiated between Tehran and the P5+1 countries, including, of course, the US.

就這點來說，朝鮮在奧運會開幕式前舉行閱兵是挑釁性的，傷害了積極的情緒。在這個關鍵時刻，相關各方都要避免煽動性言論和軍事活動。耐心的外交努力和持續的接觸可以產生成果，正如我們在伊朗核協議中看到的那樣——德黑蘭與“P5+1”（聯合國安理會五個常任理事國加上德國，其中當然包括美國）談判達成了協議。

We continue to believe that the Iran deal is the best way to prevent nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, and that it can serve as an inspiration for developing a comparable diplomatic process to resolve the current tensions on the Korean peninsula.

我們仍然相信，伊朗協議是防止中東地區核擴散的最好辦法，而且它可以啓發我們開展一種類似的外交進程來解決當前的朝鮮半島緊張局勢。

A permanent peace treaty requiring North Korea to fully comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2397: to “immediately abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner”, beginning with unfettered access of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the nuclear facilities, would be the ideal outcome.

簽署一份要求朝鮮完全遵守聯合國安理會第2397號決議的永久和平條約將是理想的結果——根據決議，“朝鮮應立即以完全、可覈查和不可逆轉的方式放棄所有核武器和現有核計劃”，首先應允許國際原子能機構(International Atomic Energy Agency)不受限制地進入核設施。

The path to such an accord will be long and arduous, requiring stamina and discipline from all sides. Let us hope that leaders on both sides of the 38th parallel, as well as the international community, will follow the example of their Olympic athletes in striving for the greatest prize of all: a lasting, not temporary, peace on the Korean peninsula.

達成這樣一份協議將是漫長而艱鉅的，需要各方有耐力、守紀律。讓我們希望“三八線”兩邊的領導人以及國際社會都會以他們的奧運會運動員爲榜樣去爭取最大的獎項，即朝鮮半島持久、而不是暫時的和平。