美國宣稱美朝峯會安排取得“實質進展”

The Trump administration pushed ahead with hopes for a summit soon with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, after talks on Thursday with envoys from Pyongyang and the announcement of an expected meeting Friday between the country’s top nuclear negotiator and President Trump.

週四，特朗普政府與平壤的特使進行了會談，並宣佈預計將於週五進行朝鮮最高核談判代表和特朗普總統之間的會晤，這推進了與朝鮮領導人即將進行首腦會晤的希望。

After discussions in New York, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he is “confident we are moving in the right direction.”

在紐約進行磋商後，美國國務卿邁克·龐皮歐(Mike Pompeo)表示，他“確信我們在往對的方向前進”。

Mr. Pompeo maintained that the United States would continue to demand a fully verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But he acknowledged that significant challenges remained and predicted more “tough moments and difficult times” as the two sides negotiate.

龐皮歐堅稱，美國會繼續提出朝鮮半島可充分覈實且不可逆的無核化要求。但他承認其中仍然存在着重大挑戰，並預計雙方在談判中會有更多“艱難和棘手的時刻”。

Still, Mr. Pompeo cited “real progress” in rescheduling a summit meeting between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump that was set for June 12 in Singapore, before the American president canceled it last week.

儘管如此，龐皮歐宣稱重新安排金正日和特朗普之間的峯會一事取得了“實質進展”，峯會原定於6月12日在新加坡舉行，上週美國總統將會面取消。

It would be “nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste,” Mr. Pompeo told reporters after two and a half hours of discussions with Kim Yong-chol, the former North Korean intelligence chief and top nuclear arms negotiator.

在與朝鮮前情報機構高官、高級核武器談判代表金英哲(Kim Yong-chol)進行了兩個半小時的磋商後，龐皮歐告訴記者，要是“浪費了這個機會，那無異於是一個悲劇”。

“If these talks are successful, they will truly be historic,” he said.

“這些談判若能成功，將會成爲真正的歷史性時刻，”他說。

The diplomacy is expected to continue on Friday in Washington, where Mr. Trump is planning to receive a letter from the North Korean leader, hand-delivered by his envoys.

外交活動預計將於週五在華盛頓繼續展開。特朗普將收到特使親手轉交的朝鮮領導人的信件。

In remarks to reporters on Thursday, Mr. Trump said it was not clear if the show of tenuous détente would be enough to strike a deal to hold the summit meeting but said negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang — which both sides hope will end decades of enmity and suspicion — are “in good hands.”

特朗普週四在對記者的講話中表示，目前尚不清楚緊張關係的一絲緩和是否足以達成舉辦首腦會晤的協議，但他表示，華盛頓和平壤之間的談判——雙方都希望能結束數十年的敵意和猜疑——正在“妥善處理”中。

The meeting set for Friday came as a surprise even to some on Mr. Trump’s staff, and he offered few details when he announced it. It would be a rare visit similar to one made to Washington in 2000 by Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok, who was then North Korea’s second-most-powerful official. Mr. Jo met President Bill Clinton and delivered a letter from North Korea’s leader at the time, Kim Jong-il.

預計週五進行的會晤對特朗普的一些工作人員來說甚至都是一個意外，宣佈時，他也未提供什麼細節。這次會晤將會和朝鮮當時權力第二大的高官——次帥趙明錄(Jo Myong-rok)2000年訪問華盛頓類似，是一場罕見來訪。趙明錄與比爾·克林頓(Bill Clinton)總統進行了會晤，並轉交了一封來自朝鮮當時的領導人金正日的信件。

Mr. Trump’s decision to personally meet the North Korean envoy displayed his eagerness to be at the center of the action for the high-stakes talks.

特朗普決定親自會見朝鮮特使，表現了他希望站在這場高風險談判行動中心的急切心情。

A senior State Department official told reporters on Wednesday night that it would be natural for the North Korean delegation to pass communications through Mr. Pompeo, to then deliver to the president. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said then that he would be surprised if the envoys delivered a letter to the president personally.

國務院一位高級官員週三晚告訴記者，正常的做法是朝鮮代表團通過龐皮歐傳遞信息給總統。這位不願透露姓名的官員表示，如果特使親自向總統遞交一封信件，他是會感到驚訝的。

Michael Green, a former senior Asia adviser to President George W. Bush, said the flurry of diplomatic activity had already led South Korea, Russia and China to either propose, consider or undertake a softening of sanctions.

曾擔任喬治·W·布什(George W. Bush)亞洲事務顧問的邁克爾·格林(Michael Green)表示，一連串的外交活動已使韓國、俄國和中國或提出、或考慮、或開始減輕制裁。

“North Korea’s goal is to defuse sanctions, and it’s already working,” Mr. Green said. “There’s nothing that the North Koreans have put on the table that suggests any serious intent to denuclearize.”

“朝鮮的目標是化解制裁，並且已經奏效了，”格林說。“朝鮮已經擺上談判桌的，並沒有表明他們真地有意無核化。”

American and North Korean envoys have also been meeting in Panmunjom, in the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, and another set of officials has held talks in Singapore to hash out the logistics of putting the June 12 summit meeting back on.

美國和朝鮮的特使還在朝韓之間的非軍事區——板門店舉行了會晤。另一批官員還在新加坡舉行了會談，詳細討論重啓6月12日首腦會晤的後勤問題。

The blizzard of meetings represents a breathtaking change from the bellicose language the two sides lobbed at each other for much of last year, with Mr. Trump threatening to unleash “fire and fury” against North Korea if it endangered the United States.

突如其來的一系列會談表明，雙方已從去年大部分時間內不斷拋出的好鬥語言中有了驚人轉變。特朗普去年威脅稱，如果朝鮮危及美國，他會向朝鮮發動“怒火和炮火”。

But the two sides still remain far apart. The Trump administration has largely insisted that North Korea commit itself to a rapid and complete unwinding of its nuclear program, although the president recently opened the door to a phased dismantling.

但雙方依舊存在很大分歧。儘管總統近期打開了分階段拆除核計劃的大門，但特朗普政府仍在很大程度上堅持要求朝鮮迅速並完整地棄核。

President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, who served as an early mediator between Washington and Pyongyang, is known to favor a step-by-step process that would lift some sanctions against North Korea in exchange for verifiable steps to stop or reverse its weapons programs. North Korea is thought to favor such an approach.

衆所周知，華盛頓和平壤之間早期的調節者——韓國總統文在寅贊同分步走的進程，用減輕制裁來換取朝鮮停止或廢除其武器計劃的可驗證步驟。人們認爲朝鮮更喜歡這種辦法。

A senior South Korean official warned on Wednesday that differences between the two sides were substantial.

韓國一位高級官員週三警告，雙方存在顯著分歧。

“It won’t be easy to narrow the gap and find common ground, but I think it would not be impossible,” Cho Myoung-gyon, the South’s unification minister, said in a speech in Seoul.

“要縮小差距並找到共同點並不容易，但我認爲這不是不可能的，”韓國統一部部長趙明均(Cho Myoung-gyon)在首爾發表講話時說。

Deep divisions remain within the Trump administration, and have led in part to the sharp reversals in the approach to the reclusive country. In March, Mr. Trump impulsively accepted the invitation to meet with Mr. Kim — the summit meeting that he canceled last week, only to reopen the door a day later.

特朗普政府內部仍然存在深刻分歧，並部分導致了對待朝鮮這個與世隔絕國家的態度出現急劇逆轉。三月，特朗普衝動地接受了與金正恩會面的邀請——上週他取消了這一會晤，可一天後又再次重啓。