【英语中国】朝鲜承诺将严惩枪杀中国公民肇事者

North Korea has issued a rare public apology after its border guards killed three Chinese citizens, promising to punish those responsible and to ensure that such incidents do not happen again, the Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

North Korean authorities said the shootings were an “accident” that was being investigated and extended condolences to the bereaved families, Xinhua said.

The report suggests that the regime in Pyongyang, whose diplomatic style often verges on the truculent, is working hard to try and soothe relations with China, which is its principal political ally and economic backer. So far Beijing has refrained from criticising the North Koreans over the alleged torpedoing of a South Korean warship in March, in which 46 sailors died.

The three Chinese citizens were shot dead last Friday near the border city of Dandong, while a fourth person was wounded. Chinese officials said they were shot inside North Korea and were suspected of being smugglers.

Beijing made a formal protest this week over the incident, opening a rare public disagreement between the two governments.

The Chinese foreign ministry said that China attached “great importance” to the incident and had immediately raised “a solemn representation” with the government in Pyongyang.

China has a long-standing close relationship with North Korea which was forged when they fought on the same side in the Korean war. More recently, Chinese food aid has helped prop up the regime of Kim Jong-il, who recently made one of his occasional forays out of the country with a visit to Beijing and several other northern Chinese cities.

However, ties between the two countries have become more frayed over the last year, particularly in the aftermath of two nuclear tests that North Korea conducted in 2009.

Beijing has come under heavy pressure to criticise Pyongyang openly over the sinking of the Cheonan warship, especially after a South Korean investigation found last month that the ship was destroyed by a North Korean torpedo. However, China has largely stuck to a line of calling for calm on the Korean peninsula.

据新华社昨日报道，在朝鲜边防部队打死三名中国公民后，朝鲜发表了罕见的公开致歉，承诺将严惩肇事者，并防止类似事件再次发生。

新华社报道称，朝方表示，枪击是一起“偶发事件”，正接受调查，朝方还对死者家属表示慰问。

上述报道似乎表明，外交风格往往近乎乖张的平壤政权，正努力试图与自己的主要政治盟友及经济后台中国搞好关系。迄今，北京方面一直克制着没有就朝鲜被指在3月份用鱼雷击沉韩国军舰、造成46名韩国水兵丧生一事谴责朝鲜。

这三名中国公民是上周五在边境城市丹东附近被枪杀的，还有一人受伤。中国官员表示，这些人是在朝鲜境内遭到枪击的，他们被怀疑是走私者。

本周北京方面就这起事件提出正式抗议，从而罕见地公开了两国政府间的不和。

中国外交部表示，中方“高度重视”这起事件，立即向朝方提出“严正交涉”。

中国与朝鲜有着长期的密切关系，这种关系是两位战友在朝鲜战争期间建立起来的。近年，中国的粮食援助帮助支撑起金正日政权。最近，金正日进行了少见的出国旅行，访问了北京和其它几个中国北方城市。

不过，两国关系在过去一年里变得比较紧张，尤其是在2009年朝鲜进行第二次核试验之后。

北京方面面临巨大压力，要求其就韩国“天安”舰沉没一事，公开谴责平壤方面，尤其是在上个月韩方调查发现该舰系被朝鲜鱼雷击沉之后。不过，中国基本上坚持了呼吁朝鲜半岛保持冷静克制的立场。

译者/何黎