東亞亂局:老撾遣返一批朝鮮難民
Laos handed over a group of North Korean refugees to Pyongyang this week and rejected criticism it had endangered their lives, saying South Korea was informed of the detentions but made no attempt to help, an assertion a South Korean official disputed.
老撾本週遣返了一批朝鮮難民，並反駁了外界對於其令這些難民身陷險境的指責。老撾說，韓國也獲悉了這些難民被扣留的消息，但是沒有嘗試提供幫助，一名韓國官員否認這一說法。News of the repatriation of the North Koreans between the ages of 15 and 23 has garnered national attention in South Korea. It's thought to be the first time Laos─a common transit point for North Koreans fleeing their homeland via China─has handed over defectors to agents from the North.
這批朝鮮難民的年齡在15到23歲之間，他們被遣返的消息在韓國引發了關注。外界認爲這是老撾第一次將脫北者交給朝鮮特工。老撾是脫北者經由中國逃離朝鮮之後常去的中轉站。In previous instances, escapees caught inside Laos were moved to a third country, often Thailand, to be sent to Seoul under an unofficial agreement between Laos and South Korea, a former South Korean diplomat to Laos said.
一名前韓國駐老撾外交官說，此前，在老撾境內被逮捕的脫北者曾經有幾次被轉送到第三個國家（通常是泰國），然後根據老撾和韓國的非正式協議被送到首爾。
Human-rights activists working for North Korean defectors say the swift repatriation is unusual, suggesting North Korea has been more assertive in recovering defectors since the dictator Kim Jong Un came to power in late 2011.
爲脫北者維權的人權活動人士說，這麼迅速的遣返不同尋常，並暗示說，自從朝鮮獨裁者金正恩(Kim Jong Un)在2011年年末執掌政權以來，朝鮮尋回脫北者的態度更加堅定。Officials from the Southeast Asian nation, where the North Koreans were detained on May 10, said both the North Korean and South Korean embassies in the capital Vientiane were informed but only the North moved to take the group. Laotian officials said the refugees didn't ask to be sent to South Korea.
這些脫北者於5月10日在老撾被扣押。這個東南亞國家的官員說，朝鮮和韓國駐老撾首都萬象的大使館都得到了通知，但是隻有朝鮮要求帶走這批朝鮮人。老撾官員說，難民們沒有要求被送往韓國。South Korea has declined to comment officially on the case, but a senior official challenged the Laotian account on Thursday. 'South Korea made constant requests to visit the North Korean refugees, to have them released to us and to protect them from forced extradition,' said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
韓國官方拒絕對此事發表評論，但是一名高級官員週四反駁了老撾的說法。這名要求匿名的官員說，韓國多次要求探望朝鮮難民，將他們釋放並交予韓國，防止他們被強制引渡。The North Korean defectors are assumed to have been repatriated earlier this week via China, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, and will likely face interrogation. Punishment for defectors that have had contact with South Koreans and religious groups is widely considered to be more severe, with punishments including hard labor, prison camp and even execution, according to scholars and human-rights activists.
韓國外交部說，這些脫北者據信已經於本週早些時候經由中國回到朝鮮，他們將可能面臨審問。學者和人權活動人士說，外界普遍認爲，接觸韓國人和宗教組織的脫北者受到的懲罰更加嚴重，包括苦役、監獄集中營，甚至死刑。The refugees were arrested close to the Chinese border together with South Korean guides. They were moved to a detention center in Vientiane days later, Laotian Foreign Ministry officials said.
這些難民是在中國邊境附近被逮捕的，當時他們正跟着一些韓國嚮導。老撾外交部的官員們說，幾天後，他們被轉移到萬象的一個拘留中心。Because the nine North Koreans and the two South Koreans crossed the Sino-Laotian border without passing an immigration checkpoint, authorities treated them as illegal immigrants, Laotian officials said. Both North and South Korean embassies were notified of the refugees once their identities were revealed, and at the North's request, the nine were released into its custody, according to the ministry's account.
老撾官員說，因爲這九名朝鮮人和兩名韓國人在沒有通過出入境檢查站的情況下越過了中老邊境，有關部門將其視作非法移民。難民身份一經曝光後朝鮮和韓國大使館就得到有關這些難民的通知。據老撾外交部描述，應朝鮮的要求，九名朝鮮人被轉移至朝鮮的監管下。Laotian Foreign Ministry officials said that contrary to earlier South Korean reports based on the guides' testimony, the North Korean refugees didn't ask to be sent to the South, and the South Korean Embassy didn't file an official request to visit them. 'We expected them to do that [request a visit],' said Khantivong Somlith, an official at the Laotian Embassy in Seoul.
老撾外交部官員說，和此前韓國方面根據嚮導的證詞進行的報道相左，朝鮮難民沒有要求被送往韓國，韓國使館也沒有提交正式申請以探訪這些難民。位於首爾的老撾大使館的一位官員宋歷(Khantivong Somlith)說，我們希望韓國方面提出探訪申請。South Korea's first attempt to discuss the issue with Laos came only on Wednesday when the Vientiane-based ambassador visited the Laotian vice foreign minister─after the nine refugees were escorted out of the country by North Korean agents, the Laotian officials said.
老撾官員說，韓國方面直到本週三才首次嘗試與老撾討論這一問題。當時韓國駐萬象大使會見了老撾外交部副部長。此前九名朝鮮難民已經被朝鮮特工押解出老撾。The South Korean guides, a pastor and his wife, accused Laos and North Korea of cutting a deal for the escapees' repatriation. Speaking to national media, they added that South Korea didn't intervene quickly or forcefully enough. The guides, who are back in South Korea, couldn't be reached to comment.
兩位韓國嚮導（一位牧師和他的妻子）指責老撾和朝鮮私下達成遣返上述朝鮮難民的協議。在接受韓國媒體採訪時兩人說，韓國政府沒有迅速有力介入此事。記者無法聯繫已經回到韓國的這兩位嚮導置評。South Korean media and activists have questioned whether this case points to Pyongyang's influence eclipsing Seoul's in Vientiane, despite the South being a top aid donor to Laos. North Korea and Laos have maintained relatively close relations as allies since the 1970s, but recently the level of senior-level contact has increased, according to the South Korean government official.
韓國媒體和活動人士紛紛質疑這一事件是否表明平壤對老撾的影響力已經超過首爾，雖然首爾仍然向老撾提供大量援助。自上世紀70年代以來，朝鮮和老撾就保持比較密切的同盟關係，但據韓國政府官員說，近來老撾和朝鮮高層接觸愈發頻繁。The last known senior-level contact between the North and the Southeast Asian country was a week ago, when North Korea's head of parliament met with Soukanh Mahalath, Vientiane mayor and senior ruling party member, in Pyongyang, North Korean state media reported.
朝鮮和老撾最近一次高層接觸在一週前。據朝鮮官方媒體報道，當時朝鮮最高人民會議負責人同萬象市長和老撾執政黨高級別成員馬哈拉特(Soukanh Mahalath)在平壤會面。More than 25,000 North Koreans have fled their impoverished country and live in South Korea, which gives such arrivals South Korean nationality. Their route of choice has been via China and Southeast Asia, but since Mr. Kim took power, Pyongyang has tightened its borders to prevent defections.
超過25,000名朝鮮人逃離貧困的朝鮮到韓國生活，韓國允許這些脫北者入籍。這些人脫北的路徑是取道中國和東南亞國家。但自金正恩上臺以來，平壤已經加強邊境管理，以防止民衆脫北。The number of North Koreans escaping to the South tumbled 44% in 2012 from a year earlier, South Korean government figures show. Pyongyang has also increased punishment for repatriated defectors and stepped up efforts to reduce corruption among border guards that accept bribes to let defectors pass, according to activists and recent defectors.
韓國政府數據顯示，逃到韓國的朝鮮人數量在2012年同比下降44%。據活動人士和最近脫北的朝鮮人透露，平壤還加大了對被遣返的脫北者的懲罰力度，並加大努力減少邊境守衛受賄的現象。朝鮮邊境守衛收受賄賂後會允許叛逃者出境。
