朝鲜导弹发射失败 美国副总统抵达韩国

North Korea launched a ballistic missile early on Sunday but it exploded almost immediately, an embarrassing failure that came a day after Pyongyang displayed several new missiles for the first time in a military parade.

朝鲜在周日早间发射一枚弹道导弹，但几乎立即爆炸。在平壤周六首次展示数枚新式导弹后，这是一次令朝鲜难堪的失败。

According to senior US officials, the missile was launched at 6.21am local time and blew up “about four or five seconds” afterwards. The failure came as Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, was celebrating the 105th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather, the late Kim Il Sung who founded the nation.

根据美国高级官员的说法，这枚导弹在当地时间早晨6:21分发射，“大约四或五秒后”爆炸。此际正值朝鲜独裁者金正恩（Kim Jong Un）庆祝祖父、已故朝鲜民主主义人民共和国（DPRK）缔造者金日成诞辰105周年。

“The president and his military team are aware of North Korea’s most recent unsuccessful missile launch,” said James Mattis, the US defence secretary. “The president has no further comment.”

“（特朗普）总统和他的军事团队已获知朝鲜这次最新的失败发射，” 美国国防部长詹姆斯?马蒂斯（James Mattis）表示：“总统没有进一步的评论。”

The failed launch came as US vice-president Mike Pence was flying to Seoul for the first leg of a 10-day Asia tour that will also take him to Japan, Indonesia and Australia. He arrived in the South Korean capital later on Sunday and laid a wreath at a national cemetery honouring the country’s war dead.

在朝鲜这次失败的导弹发射之际，正值美国副总统迈克?彭斯（Mike Pence）飞往韩国，这是他为期10天访问亚洲行程的第一站。随后，彭斯将会访问日本、印度尼西亚和澳大利亚。彭斯于周日晚些时候抵达韩国首都，并在国家公墓向韩国战争死者鲜花。