美國敦促非洲國家切斷與朝鮮的聯繫

The US is stepping up pressure on African states to cut longstanding military and diplomatic ties with North Korea as part of its push to squeeze the funding of Kim Jong Un’s nuclear missile programme.

美國正在加大對非洲國家的壓力，要求它們切斷與朝鮮的長期軍事和外交聯繫。這是美國擠壓金正恩(Kim Jong Un)核導計劃籌資努力的一部分。

US officials want African countries to expel North Korean workers and diplomats, alleging that Pyongyang’s 13 embassies on the continent double up as “profit making centres”.

美國官員希望非洲國家驅逐朝鮮工人和外交官。他們宣稱，平壤方面在非洲大陸的13個大使館還扮演着“利潤製造中心”的角色。

Washington says Pyongyang, which is seeking to develop nuclear missiles that can hit American cities, is using its military co-operation and arms deals with African states to obtain precious foreign currency. It also accuses some of the several thousand North Koreans believed to be living in Africa, including diplomats, of trafficking wildlife parts, such as rhino horn, another relatively easy source of foreign currency.

華盛頓方面表示，平壤方面正利用與非洲國家的軍事合作和武器交易獲取寶貴的外匯——朝鮮正在尋求研發可打到美國城市的核導彈。它還指稱，據信在非洲生活的幾千名朝鮮人當中，包括外交官在內的一些人在販賣犀牛角等野生動物器官。後者也是朝鮮一個相對容易的外匯來源。

US officials estimate that Pyongyang makes at least $100m through the supply of arms, military training, construction contracts and smuggling.

美國官員估計，平壤方面通過軍火供應、軍事訓練、建設合同和走私至少賺了1億美元。

Peter Pham, head of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center in Washington, said that, although it might seem like “chump change”, it was “a fairly significant sum to the regime given the overall squeeze on its finances.” It was roughly 3-5 per cent of Pyongyang’s total annual foreign exchange earnings, he said.

華盛頓大西洋理事會(Atlantic Council)非洲中心負責人Peter Pham表示，雖然這些錢看起來“沒有多少”，但“鑑於朝鮮金融受到全面制裁，對其而言數目還是相當可觀的”。他說，它大約佔到朝鮮年度外匯收入總額的3%至5%。

Last September, a UN panel of experts identified 11 African countries — Angola, Benin, Botswana, DeMocratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe — as having suspected military ties to Pyongyang.

去年9月，一個聯合國專家小組確定了涉嫌與平壤方面有軍事聯繫的11個非洲國家——安哥拉、貝寧、博茨瓦納、剛果民主共和國、厄立特里亞、馬裏、莫桑比克、納米比亞、坦桑尼亞、烏干達和津巴布韋。

Some African countries, including Sudan, which the US lists as a sponsor of terrorism, have responded to Washington’s demands in an effort to curry favour and extract concessions. Last October, after Khartoum committed itself to downgrading North Korea ties, the US eased some sanctions. Namibia also initiated steps to cut military ties.

包括被美國列爲恐怖主義資助者的蘇丹在內的一些非洲國家對華盛頓方面的要求做出了迴應，以試圖討好美國和獲得讓步。去年10月，在蘇丹承諾降級與朝鮮的關係之後，美國放鬆了一些制裁。納米比亞也主動減少了與朝鮮的軍事聯繫。