朝鲜劳教判决令美国陷入尴尬
North Korea’s supreme court has sentenced a US citizen to six years of hard labour, claiming that he committed “acts hostile” to the regime after entering as a tourist in April.
朝鲜最高法院判决一名美国公民劳教6年，声称这名美国公民在今年4月以游客身份进入朝鲜后，曾从事“反朝敌对行为”。
The conviction of Matthew Miller, one of three US men being held by North Korea, was announced by state media on Sunday.
周日，朝鲜国家媒体公布了对这位名为马修•米勒(Matthew Miller)的美国人的判决。米勒是朝鲜目前羁押的三名美国人之一。The Associated Press, present at the 90-minute trial, said that Mr Miller was accused of having the “wild ambition” to spend time in a North Korean prison to investigate the conditions of inmates, and tearing up his visa to force his arrest. He was also alleged to have falsely claimed to have secret information about the US military.
美联社(Associated Press)参加了时长90分钟的庭审。据该社报道，米勒被控“心怀不轨”，试图调查朝鲜一监狱在押人员的状况。为了迫使朝鲜方面逮捕他，还撕毁了自己的签证。此外，他还被控曾假意声称自己手中拥有美国军方的秘密情报。
Mr Miller’s conviction follows that of Kenneth Bae, who was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced the following May to 15 years of hard labour, for “crimes against the country” apparently connected with his Christian missionary work. A third man, Jeffrey Fowle, is accused of deliberately leaving a Bible in a sailors’ club, and has not yet been tried.
在米勒被判决之前，2012年11月，朝鲜曾逮捕一位名叫裴埈皓(Kenneth Bae)的美国公民，并在第二年5月以“反朝颠覆罪”对其判处15年劳教，这一判决似乎与裴埈皓所开展的基督教传教活动有关。除此以外，还有一位名为杰弗里•福尔(Jeffrey Fowle)的美国公民被朝鲜方面羁押，他被控故意在一家海员俱乐部留下圣经，目前该案尚未审判。The men’s detention has created a quandary for Washington, which is loath to grant concessions to North Korea while Pyongyang continues to pursue its nuclear weapons programme. High-level dialogue between the nations has stalled since April 2012, when the North Korean regime unsuccessfully launched a long-range rocket less than two months after pledging to suspend nuclear weapon and associated missile tests in return for US aid.
米勒被羁押令美国政府十分尴尬。此前，当朝鲜政府继续启动其核武项目时，美国政府就已无意向朝鲜做出让步。自2012年4月份以来，两国间的高级别对话已陷入停顿。原因是该月朝鲜曾发射一枚远程火箭——尽管并未取得成功。而就在那次发射之前不到两个月，为了换取美国的援助，朝鲜曾承诺要暂停核武器及相关导弹的测试。On September 1, North Korea arranged interviews between the three men and CNN. “The American government is known for having a strong policy of protecting its citizens, yet for my case there is still no movement,” Mr Miller said in his interview.
9月1日，朝鲜曾批准美国有线新闻网(CNN)采访过这三名美国公民。在接受采访时，米勒曾表示：“众所周知，美国政府在保护本国公民方面奉行强硬政策。然而在我的案子上，至今不见他们的任何行动。”“I need help and they need to quickly make movement because there’s not much time.”
“我需要帮助。他们必须尽快采取行动，因为时间不多了。”In 2009, a visit to Pyongyang by former president Bill Clinton secured the release of two detained US journalists. However, efforts over the past year to secure a visit by Bob King, US envoy for North Korean human rights affairs, appear to have been rebuffed by Pyongyang.
2009年，美国前总统比尔•克林顿(Bill Clinton)曾访问平壤，那次访问曾令两名被羁押在朝的美国记者成功获释。然而，去年美国曾尝试让美国朝鲜人权事务特使鲍勃·金(Bob King)访问平壤，这一尝试似乎遭到了朝鲜政府的拒绝。“We request North Korea pardon Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae and grant them amnesty and immediate release so they may reunite with their families,” said Darby Holladay, a spokesman for the US state department.
美国国务院发言人达比•霍拉迪(Darby Holladay)表示：“我们要求朝鲜赦免马修•米勒和裴埈皓。对他们实行特赦并立即释放他们，从而令他们能与家人团聚。”
