【英语国际】美韩联合军演周日开始 朝鲜按兵不动

The South Korean and U.S. militaries began a four-day naval drill off the east coast of South Korea on Sunday, an exercise devised after the countries concluded in May that North Korea was responsible for sinking a South Korea patrol ship earlier this year.

Despite making repeated, heated statements about the exercise over the past week, North Korea did nothing about it.

China also had a muted response, even though it has objected for weeks to the possibility that the exercise might take place in the Yellow Sea between it and South Korea.

With the exercise occurring off South Korea's southeast coast, China's official news agency simply reported that the drill may 'complicate the security situation in the region.'

South Korea and the U.S. routinely hold two large military drills per year.

The two countries added the current exercise after their investigators, along with experts from four other countries, determined that a North Korean torpedo sank a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, on March 26.

Forty-six sailors died in the incident.

North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement.

From a public-relations standpoint, the exercise is the climax to a series of statements and diplomatic maneuvers designed by the South Korean and U.S. governments to express anger over the sinking.

The antisubmarine exercise involves 8,000 U.S. and South Korean troops, 20 ships and submarines and 200 aircraft. Preparations, as well as its actual start on Sunday, received saturation media coverage in South Korea.

But the pursuit of illicit North Korean money and business activities announced last week by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, likely to be less visible, may have a deeper impact on Pyongyang. U.S. officials are scheduled to visit China, South Korea and other countries in coming weeks to provide more details.

The ship sinking has produced one other major outcome: the likely end of the six-nation diplomatic process that began in 2003 in which China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the U.S. tried to persuade North Korea to give up nuclear weapons.

North Korea walked away from that process in 2008 and, with China and Russia unwilling to back South Korea's Cheonan claims, the prospect of restarting the process appears dim.

China, North Korea's chief political ally and economic benefactor, hasn't accepted South Korea's invitation to examine the ship. Russia did, but has remained neutral.

As has been the case since March, there was no heightened military activity.

The South Korean defense ministry reported no unusual activity by the North's military on Sunday.

韩国和美国军队周日在韩国东海岸开始了为期四天的海军军演，此前美韩在5月得出结论认为，朝鲜要为今年稍早击沉韩国一艘巡逻船负责，因此美韩计划了这次军演。

尽管上周内，朝鲜对军演多次发表强烈反对声明，但这次朝鲜没有什么举动。

Associated Press一架超级大黄蜂战机在周日的美韩联合军演中起飞。中国也表示沉默，虽然几周来中国反对可能在中国与韩国之间的黄海举行军演。

由于军演在韩国东南海岸进行，中国官方新闻机构报导时只说，军演可能“使该地区政治局势复杂化。”

美韩每年例行举行两次大规模军事演习。

在两国调查人员以及来自其他四个国家的专家认为朝鲜一枚鱼雷在3月26日击沉了韩国一艘军舰后，美韩增加了这次军演。

46名韩国船员死于这一事件。

朝鲜不断否认参与这起事件。

从公关角度看，这次军演是韩国和美国政府为了表达对天安号被击沉的愤怒而采取的一系列如发布声明和其他外交行动的高潮。

在这一次反潜艇的军演中，美韩参加军演的兵力为8,000人，还有20艘船只和潜艇，另外还有200架飞机。准备阶段以及周日开始的实际演练，得到韩国媒体连篇累牍的报导。

美国国务卿希拉里•克林顿(Hillary Clinton）上周宣布，将追查朝鲜非法的资金和商业活动，这一举动可能是不太明显的，但可能对平壤产生重大影响。美国官员计划未来几周访问中国、韩国及其他国家，届时将提供更多细节。

沉船事件已带来另一重大后果：2003年开始的六方会谈可能结束，这其中涉及中国、日本、俄罗斯、韩国以及美国，它们试图劝说朝鲜放弃核武器。

朝鲜于2008年退出六方会谈，中国和俄罗斯不愿支持韩国就天安舰作出的指控，重启六方会谈的前景似乎渺茫。

朝鲜的主要政治盟国兼经济援助国家──中国，没有接受韩国请其去检验船只的邀请，俄罗斯虽然接受了邀请，但一直保持中立。

3月以来军事活动级别没有升高。

韩国国防部报告，周日朝鲜军方没有出现异常活动。