朝鮮勞教判決令美國陷入尷尬

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.

朝鮮最高法院判決一名美國公民勞教6年，聲稱這名美國公民在今年4月以遊客身份進入朝鮮後，曾從事“反朝敵對行爲”。

The conviction of Matthew Miller, one of three US men being held by North Korea, was announced by state media on Sunday.

週日，朝鮮國家媒體公佈了對這位名爲馬修•米勒(Matthew Miller)的美國人的判決。米勒是朝鮮目前羈押的三名美國人之一。

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.

美聯社(Associated Press)參加了時長90分鐘的庭審。據該社報道，米勒被控“心懷不軌”，試圖調查朝鮮一監獄在押人員的狀況。爲了迫使朝鮮方面逮捕他，還撕毀了自己的簽證。此外，他還被控曾假意聲稱自己手中擁有美國軍方的祕密情報。

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.

在米勒被判決之前，2012年11月，朝鮮曾逮捕一位名叫裴埈皓(Kenneth Bae)的美國公民，並在第二年5月以“反朝顛覆罪”對其判處15年勞教，這一判決似乎與裴埈皓所開展的基督教傳教活動有關。除此以外，還有一位名爲傑弗裏•福爾(Jeffrey Fowle)的美國公民被朝鮮方面羈押，他被控故意在一家海員俱樂部留下聖經，目前該案尚未審判。

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.

米勒被羈押令美國政府十分尷尬。此前，當朝鮮政府繼續啓動其核武項目時，美國政府就已無意向朝鮮做出讓步。自2012年4月份以來，兩國間的高級別對話已陷入停頓。原因是該月朝鮮曾發射一枚遠程火箭——儘管並未取得成功。而就在那次發射之前不到兩個月，爲了換取美國的援助，朝鮮曾承諾要暫停核武器及相關導彈的測試。

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，朝鮮曾批准美國有線新聞網(CNN)採訪過這三名美國公民。在接受採訪時，米勒曾表示：“衆所周知，美國政府在保護本國公民方面奉行強硬政策。然而在我的案子上，至今不見他們的任何行動。”

“I need help and they need to quickly make movement because there’s not much time.”

“我需要幫助。他們必須儘快採取行動，因爲時間不多了。”

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，美國前總統比爾•克林頓(Bill Clinton)曾訪問平壤，那次訪問曾令兩名被羈押在朝的美國記者成功獲釋。然而，去年美國曾嘗試讓美國朝鮮人權事務特使鮑勃·金(Bob King)訪問平壤，這一嘗試似乎遭到了朝鮮政府的拒絕。

“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.

美國國務院發言人達比•霍拉迪(Darby Holladay)表示：“我們要求朝鮮赦免馬修•米勒和裴埈皓。對他們實行特赦並立即釋放他們，從而令他們能與家人團聚。”