PLA Daily: US new sanctions against DPRK demonstrate lack of mutual trust

解放军报:制裁风波折射美朝互信缺失

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Li Jiayao
Time
2018-12-18 21:17:20

After keeping silence for nearly a week, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) eventually responded on December 16 to the US new sanctions on three DPRK high-ranking officials, denouncing the move a “provocative act.”

针对美国宣布制裁朝鲜高官之举,朝方在沉默近一周后于16日表态谴责美方这一“挑衅行为”。

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on December 16 that the DPRK’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement under the name of the policy research director of the Institute for American Studies. The statement said that over the past six months since the US and DPRK leaders met in Singapore, Washington had taken sanctions measures for several times against the companies, individuals and vessels of not only the DPRK but also some third countries under the pretexts alleging that Pyongyang carried out money laundering, illegal shipping and cyber attacks.

Recently, the US administration made a further “provocative act” to add DPRK officials onto its sanction list for alleged “human rights abuses,” according to the statement.

据朝中社16日报道,未公开姓名的朝鲜外务省美国研究所政策研究室室长发表谈话说,自朝美领导人新加坡会晤6个月来,美国炮制朝方参与洗钱、通过船舶转运进行非法交易、开展网络攻击等各种借口,数次对朝鲜乃至第三国的公司、个人和船只启动制裁,近期又拿不存在的“人权问题”做文章,做出把朝鲜领导干部追加列入美国制裁名单的“挑衅行为”。

The statement also noted that threatening, intimidation and suppression could never be the way out, and the DRPK proposed the two sides build mutual trust and start with things that are currently possible to improve their relations step by step.

这名官员表示,对对方进行威胁、恐吓和打压并非解决问题之道。朝鲜主张应首先构筑信任,通过从能做到的事情开始、逐一分阶段进行的方式改善朝美关系。

On December 10, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on three DPRK officials, including Choe Ryong Hae, director of the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), alleging that the departments under their jurisdiction involve abuses of human rights.

美国财政部10日宣布,将制裁朝鲜劳动党组织指导部部长崔龙海等3名朝鲜高级官员,称他们管理的部门涉嫌存在侵犯人权等行为。

According to Wang Junsheng, an associate research fellow of the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the US increased pressure on the DPRK by imposing sanctions on its high-ranking officials such as Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and vice chairman of the Central Committee of the WPK, evidencing that Washington has never changed its “maximum pressure” policy against the DPRK.

中国社科院亚太与全球战略研究院副研究员王俊生认为,美国通过制裁朝鲜劳动党中央政治局常委、中央副委员长崔龙海等身居要职的实权官员,进一步向朝方施压,显示美国对朝“极限施压”的政策并没有改变。

Particularly, against the backdrop that the second Trump-Kim summit becomes a hot topic among the international community, Washington sent the signal asking Pyongyang to take substantive steps towards denuclearization.

尤其是在国际社会热议可能举行第二次“金特会”之际,美方释放出要求朝鲜必须做出实质性无核化举措的信号。

Wang remarked that on one hand, the US direct sanctions on top officials like Choe Ryong Hae are “unacceptable” for Pyongyang, so the latter must seriously expressed its discontent for Washington, and on the other hand, the DPRK is taking active actions to promote economic development and thus hopes to break the ice in its relations with the US. In fact, it does not want the trend of peaceful dialogue to reverse. Perhaps this explains why Pyongyang didn’t respond until nearly a week after the US announced the new sanctions.

他说,一方面,美国此次直接制裁崔龙海这个级别的官员对朝方来说难以接受,因此必须通过严肃表态来表达对美国的不满;另一方面,朝鲜正积极加大经济建设,在外交上希望打破与美国关系的僵局,不希望和平对话的趋势发生逆转,或许正因如此朝方此次在美国宣布制裁后近一周才表态回应。

Wang also commented that the US and the DPRK have fundamental differences in the sequence of security guarantee and sanction removal as required by the DPRK in the process of achieving substantive denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

The new sanctions result in a setback for recent interactions between the US and the DPRK, and signal that their contradictions are likely to escalate. This move may also be a bargaining strategy taken by Washington in its negotiations with Pyongyang.

王俊生还分析说,朝美在半岛实质性无核化进程、朝鲜所要求的安全保障和解除制裁的顺序上一直存在根本性分歧,此次风波意味着朝美近期互动又遇挫,既有双方矛盾升级的迹象,也有双方在谈判期间讨价还价的考量。

In 2018, the hope for political settlement of the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula has been rekindled, with its ups and downs drawing great attention from the international community. At the end of this year, however, the situation got complicated again, adding uncertainties to the second Trump-Kim summit advocated by the US side.

2018年,是半岛问题政治解决希望重燃的一年,起起伏伏格外牵动国际社会的目光。但临近年末,局势再度微妙,美方已不止一次“喊话”的美朝领导人第二次会晤又添变数。

Even if they are facing intransigent fundamental differences, the US and the DPRK shouldn’t slammed the brakes on bilateral ties that has just been accelerated. They need to point themselves in the right direction and show sincerity to improve bilateral relations. In view that the two sides already lack mutual trust, vacillating attitudes can only make the situation worse.

越是面临难以妥协的根本性分歧,朝美双方越不能刚踩油门又踩刹车,需要把握正确的历史方向,需要通过释放诚意来增加双方关系的润滑剂。互信本就匮乏,态度切忌反复。

What breakthroughs will be made in the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula in the coming year? Let’s wait and see.

2019年即将到来,朝核问题对话能否在新一年取得突破?唯有拭目以待。

Disclaimer: The article was published on the PLA Daily on Dec. 18. It is translated from Chinese into English and edited by China Military online.

声明:本文由《解放军报》发表于12月18日。本文由军网英文编译发布。

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