朝鲜人武部部长玄永哲被处决始末

North Korea has executed its defence minister by anti-aircraft fire for crimes including falling asleep at a meeting in front of supreme leader Kim Jong Un, Seoul’s Intelligence agency has claimed.

首尔情报机关声称，朝鲜已经用高射炮处决了其人民武力部长玄永哲(Hyon Yong Chol)，其罪名包括当着伟大领袖金正恩(Kim Jong Un)的面在会上打瞌睡。

Hyon Yong Chol had enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence under Mr Kim: relatively unknown when he was promoted to vice-marshal in 2012, he became one of Pyongyang's most senior officials last year with a ministerial position and a seat on the National Defence Commission, the country’s most powerful organ. His name regularly appeared near the top of the list of officials accompanying Mr Kim to public events.

在金正恩任内，玄永哲曾以极快的速度升至高位。2012年被升为次帅时，玄永哲名气还不算大。去年，凭借人民武力部部长一职及朝鲜最高权力机构国人民武力防委员会(National Defence Commission)的席位，玄永哲跻身平壤最高官员之列。他的名字定期出现在陪伴金正恩出席公开活动的官员名单的最前列。

But Mr Hyon was executed using an anti-aircraft gun in front of hundreds of people near the end of last month, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a briefing on Wednesday. This appears to be the latest in an increasingly heavy stream of executions, widely interpreted as part of efforts by the young leader to protect his authority over the state since taking power on his father’s death in December 2011.

然而，韩国国家情报局(National Intelligence Service)周三在一次问询中告诉韩国议员，在近上个月底时，玄永哲已被当着数百人的面，用高射炮处决。这一事件似乎是朝鲜日益增多的处决事件中的最新一例。这些处决事件被普遍解释为金正恩保护政权举措的一部分。自从2011年12月在其父逝世后掌权以来，这位年轻的领导人试图通过这些措施，保护其在朝鲜政府中的权威。

“Every time we hear rumours of more executions, we have to wonder whether it’s a sign of authority or an inability to keep things under control,” Victor Cha, a White House adviser on Asia under George W Bush, told the Financial Times last week.

上周，维克托·查(Victor Cha)告诉英国《金融时报》，“每次我们听到处决高官的传言，就会想这是否是朝鲜巩固权威或对问题失去控制能力的信号。”维克托·查曾在小布什任内担任美国亚洲事务负责人。

The executions are part of a broader, unusually severe churn of positions in North Korea’s senior ranks. About half the top 218 military and bureaucratic officials were replaced within two years of Mr Kim taking power, according to South Korean estimates.

对高官的处决，也是朝鲜更大范围的对高层权力深层洗牌的一部分。根据韩国方面的估计，在金正恩掌权两年时间内，在朝鲜218名军队和政府部门官员中，大约一半的官员遭到撤换。

The most spectacular purge was that of Jang Song Thaek, Mr Kim’s uncle and top adviser, who was executed in December 2013 on charges that ranged from distributing pornography to plotting a coup.

金正恩对其姑父及最高顾问张成泽(Jang Song Thaek)的处决是令外界最震惊的一次整肃，张成泽在2013年12月被处决，罪名中有控乱搞男女关系，也有阴谋政变。

Shin Kyung-min, a lawmaker, cited NIS claims that 15 officials had already been killed this year, compared with 41 in all of 2014 and 10 the year before. “Kim seems to be maintaining a ‘Reign of Terror’ strategy, executing people . . . when he feels threatened,” he said.

韩国国会议员申庆敏（Shin Kyung-min）引述一名情报官员的话说，朝鲜今年已经处决了15名高级官员，2014年处决了41名，2013年这个数字是10名。“金正恩似乎在实施一种‘威慑统治’策略……他将自己感到威胁其权威的人处决，来展示权威。”

The claim that Hyon was executed after falling asleep in front of Mr Kim echoes the state denunciation of Jang, who was condemned for “halfheartedly clapping” when a new title was bestowed on the supreme leader.

有关玄永哲因当着金正恩的面打瞌睡而被处决的说法，呼应了朝鲜官方对金正恩姑父张成泽的贬斥。朝鲜官方曾谴责张成泽在金正恩获新头衔时“鼓掌不积极”。

This extreme response to signs of disrespect reflects the struggle faced by Mr Kim — generally believed to be 32 — to assert his authority over much older senior figures, according to Ahn Myeong-chul, a former North Korean prison camp guard who now heads the non-profit group NK Watch.

朝鲜观察(NK Watch)负责人安明哲(Ahn Myeong-chul)表示，这种对不敬行为的极端回应方式反映了金正恩面临的困境：这位据信32岁的领导人要向年长得多的资深人物宣示自己的权威。朝鲜观察是一家非盈利组织，其现任负责人安明哲曾是朝鲜的狱警。

“He’s not being paranoid — from high-level officials to ordinary people, they really don’t respect him.”

“并不是他（金正恩）偏执多疑，不管是高层官员还是普通人，都不是真的尊敬他（金正恩）。”

Hyon’s apparent downfall came less than a month after he attended a conference in Moscow where he condemned the presence of US forces in South Korea as a “cancer growth”. In September last year he represented the country in a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

就在玄永哲可能的落马之前不到一个月，他曾在莫斯科出席会议。当时，他曾谴责美国在韩国的军事存在是“不断增长的癌症”。去年9月，他曾代表朝鲜会见俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)。

A report by Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV this month claimed Hyon had made a failed attempt to buy missiles and launch equipment from Russia during his latest visit, prompting Mr Kim to stay away from a second world war commemorative event in Moscow on May 9.

这个月，香港凤凰卫视(Phoenix TV)声称，玄永哲在最近一次访俄时，未能从俄罗斯处买到导弹及发射装置。这导致金正恩缺席5月9日在莫斯科举办的二战纪念活动。

North Korean executions are a common object of unreliable speculation. However, the reported use of an anti-aircraft gun corresponds with a study last month by AllSource Analysis and the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, which contained satellite images appearing to show execution victims lined up in front of a battery of six anti-aircraft guns at Kanggon Military Training Area near Pyongyang, the alleged site of Hyon’s death.

朝鲜的处决事件，往往是众多不可靠猜测中的常见话题。不过，报道中所称的高射炮处决方式，与AllSource Analysis和朝鲜人权委员会(Committee for Human Rights in North Korea)上个月发表的一份研究报告相呼应。这份报告中包括了几张卫星图片，图片中似乎显示了在平壤附近的Kanggon军事训练场(Kanggon Military Training Area)，多名被处决人员排在6架高射炮组成的队列前的情形，而Kanggon军事训练场则是玄永哲丧生的可能地点。