朝鲜炮击韩国岛屿North Korea shells South Korean island

North Korea has launched an artillery barrage against a South Korean island, killing two soldier and seriously injuring civilians and troops, in a dangerous escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula.

朝鲜周二向韩国一座岛屿发射多枚炮弹，导致韩国两名士兵丧生、多名平民和军人重伤。朝鲜半岛紧张局势出现危险升级。

South Korea returned artillery fire after North Korea on Tuesday unleashed a hail of 200 shells. Seoul also scrambled F-16 fighter jets and lifted the state of military readiness to its highest level short of war. The government convened an emergency meeting in the war bunker of the presidential office.

在朝鲜向韩国发射200枚炮弹后，韩国也以炮火回击朝鲜。首尔方面还紧急调遣F-16战机，并将军事戒备等级提升至“战争”之下的最高等级。韩国政府在总统府的战争掩体内召开了紧急会议。

The attack, which comes days after North Korea revealed the existence of a previously secret uranium nuclear programme, raises the stakes in an increasingly tense stand-off between the two Koreas by targeting civilians, something Seoul had dreaded could follow the sinking of a warship in March with the loss of 46 sailors.

就在前几天，朝鲜刚刚披露了此前处在保密状态的铀浓缩核计划。这次炮击把目标对准平民，令日趋紧张的朝韩对峙变得更为危险——3月份韩国一艘战舰被击沉、导致46名水兵丧生后，首尔方面就曾担心之后可能会出现这种局面。

It was North Korea’s boldest assault on civilian targets since it planted a bomb on a South Korean airliner in 1987, killing 115 people.

这是自1987年朝鲜炸毁一架韩国客机以来，朝方针对平民目标发动的最大胆的一次袭击。在上述事件中，共有115人丧失。

Early reports of casualties were vague, but Yonhap, South Korea’s official news agency, quoted Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff saying one soldier had been killed and 13 injured. State media reported three civilians had been hurt.

周二的伤亡人数并没有准确数字，但韩国官方的联合通讯社(Yonhap)引用韩国参谋长联席会议的话说，已有一名士兵丧生，13人受伤。官方媒体报道称，共有3位平民受伤。

Responding to the incident, the Chinese foreign ministry called on the “relevant parties do more to contribute to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula”.

中国外交部在回应这一事件时，呼吁“有关各方多做有利于半岛和平稳定的事情”。

“We have taken note of the relevant report and we express concern over the situation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

中国外交部发言人洪磊表示：“中方已经注意到这一报导，并对目前的局势表示关切。”

South Korean state television showed photographs of several plumes of thick black smoke billowing from houses on the island of Yeonpyeong, just off North Korea’s west coast in the Yellow Sea.

在韩国官方电视台公布的照片中，延坪岛上一些房屋浓烟滚滚，漆黑的烟雾直冲云霄。延坪岛位于黄海，距朝鲜西海岸不远。

Some of the 1,300 islanders – sobbing and breathless with panic – rang into South Korean television stations to describe the aftermath of the attack.

岛上共有1300名居民，一些居民惊魂未定，啜泣着将电话打入韩国电视台，描述袭击后的景象。

“The flames are spreading from house to house. Things are really out of hand. It is so serious as the houses are packed together,” one man told the MBN channel.

有人向MBN电视台说：“大火在不断蔓延，事情真的失去了控制。情况相当严重，因为房屋都是建在一起的。”

North Korea had no immediate comment on its motives. The Yellow Sea lies on a disputed maritime border where Pyongyang often expresses anger at South Korean naval exercises.

朝鲜没有立即对此置评。存在争议的朝韩海上边界位于黄海附近——朝鲜经常对韩国海军在那里举行演习表示不满。

Many analysts say North Korea is flexing its muscles to smoothe the succession of Kim Jong-eun, the third son of Kim Jong-il, the country’s ailing dictator. They say he is seeking to building political capital by bloodying the South with attacks such as the torpedoing of the warship in March.

许多分析师表示，朝鲜是在炫耀武力，目的是让该国健康状况不佳的独裁者金正日(Kim Jong-il)的第三子金正恩(Kim Jong-eun)顺利接班。他们称，金正恩在寻求通过攻击韩国，比如3月份用鱼雷袭击韩国军舰，以建立政治资本。

The unveiling of a new uranium enrichment facility this month could also have been part of an attempt to build Kim Jong-eun’s power base.

本月朝鲜公布了新的铀浓缩设施，这可能也是建立金正恩权力班底的一种努力。

South Korea’s foreign minister said Seoul would consider referring the attack to the United Nations Security Council.

韩国外交部长表示，韩国政府将考虑将此次袭击事件提交至联合国安理会。