朝鮮導彈發射失敗 美國副總統抵達韓國

North Korea launched a ballistic missile early on Sunday but it exploded almost immediately, an embarrassing failure that came a day after Pyongyang displayed several new missiles for the first time in a military parade.

朝鮮在週日早間發射一枚彈道導彈，但幾乎立即爆炸。在平壤週六首次展示數枚新式導彈後，這是一次令朝鮮難堪的失敗。

According to senior US officials, the missile was launched at 6.21am local time and blew up “about four or five seconds” afterwards. The failure came as Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, was celebrating the 105th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather, the late Kim Il Sung who founded the nation.

根據美國高級官員的說法，這枚導彈在當地時間早晨6:21分發射，“大約四或五秒後”爆炸。此際正值朝鮮獨裁者金正恩（Kim Jong Un）慶祝祖父、已故朝鮮民主主義人民共和國（DPRK）締造者金日成誕辰105週年。

“The president and his military team are aware of North Korea’s most recent unsuccessful missile launch,” said James Mattis, the US defence secretary. “The president has no further comment.”

“（特朗普）總統和他的軍事團隊已獲知朝鮮這次最新的失敗發射，” 美國國防部長詹姆斯?馬蒂斯（James Mattis）表示：“總統沒有進一步的評論。”

The failed launch came as US vice-president Mike Pence was flying to Seoul for the first leg of a 10-day Asia tour that will also take him to Japan, Indonesia and Australia. He arrived in the South Korean capital later on Sunday and laid a wreath at a national cemetery honouring the country’s war dead.

在朝鮮這次失敗的導彈發射之際，正值美國副總統邁克?彭斯（Mike Pence）飛往韓國，這是他爲期10天訪問亞洲行程的第一站。隨後，彭斯將會訪問日本、印度尼西亞和澳大利亞。彭斯於週日晚些時候抵達韓國首都，並在國家公墓向韓國戰爭死者鮮花。