蒂勒森:美国愿意“坐下来”与朝鲜谈判

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has used his lengthiest enunciation of US foreign policy yet to reassure Kim Jong Un that the US does not seek to topple North Korea’s supreme leader or his regime and that Washington would like to “sit down” for talks.

美国国务卿雷克斯?蒂勒森(Rex Tillerson)阐明了美国的外交政策，希望让金正恩(Kim Jong)相信，美国不寻求推翻朝鲜最高领导人或其政权，而且美国愿意“坐下来”谈判。这是蒂勒森阐明该问题所用时间最长的一次。

Mr Tillerson made the remarks on Tuesday in an unexpected and rare visit to reporters at the state department after months of uncertainty over the direction of US foreign policy, rampant apparent contradictions with President Donald Trump and a vacation that had stoked rumours he was considering resigning.

周二，蒂勒森令人意外、颇为罕见地在国务院会见记者，发表了上述言论。此前，美国外交政策的方向在过去几个月里存在着不确定性，蒂勒森的意见明显跟总统唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)非常矛盾，休假助长了他在考虑辞职的传闻。

Senior defence and diplomatic officials have already said the US wants to avoid war with North Korea given its likely devastating impact, but Mr Tillerson made public in the clearest terms yet what officials have deliberated for months in private: that the US does not seek to topple Mr Kim or send US troops to invade. Those statements will probably appeal to both Pyongyang and Beijing and bolster the US position.

资深美国防务与外交官员已表示，鉴于可能的毁灭性后果，美国想避免与朝鲜爆发战争，但蒂勒森以最清晰的措辞，把官员们私下里仔细考虑的内容公布于众：美国不需求推翻金正恩或派军队入侵朝鲜。这些说法将很可能引起朝鲜和中国的好感，并巩固美国的地位。

“We are not your enemy?.?.?.?but you are presenting an unacceptable threat to us, and we have to respond,” he said. “And we hope that at some point they will begin to understand that and we would like to sit and have a dialogue with them.”

“我们不是你们的敌人……但你们对我们构成了一种难以接受的威胁，所以我们不得不做出回应，”他说，“我希望，在某一时点，他们将开始明白这一点，我们愿意坐下来跟他们来一场对话。”

North Korea has topped Mr Trump’s foreign policy agenda since the onset of his presidency but has fast approached crisis proportions after the regime launched its first two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month — a potential nuclear capacity experts worry could come within range of US territory.

自特朗普就任总统以来，朝鲜问题就成了特朗普外交政策议程中的头号问题，但在朝鲜上月首次进行两枚洲际弹道导弹试射之后，该问题迅速接近危机状态。专家担心朝鲜会具有打击美国本土的核能力。

Efforts to stem Pyongyang’s nuclear programme via a combination of tightening and expanding economic sanctions plus pressure via China have so far come to nought. China has instead backed a dual-track approach that would see North Korea and the US engage in face-to-face talks.

迄今，美国收紧、扩大经济制裁与通过中国施压并举、根除朝鲜核项目的努力毫无成效。相反，中国支持一种双轨方式，其中包括朝美未来进行面对面谈判。

Mr Tillerson acknowledged the US policy of what he called “peaceful pressure” has so far yielded little success, but said it was the “appropriate” thing to try. He stopped short of blaming China for inaction, however, saying “only the North Koreans are to blame”. He also said the US would engage in talks only if Pyongyang accepted de-nuclearisation as its goal, a condition that has proved an impossible hurdle to clear in the past.

蒂勒森承认，他所谓“和平施压”的美国政策迄今基本没有成功，但表示，那是值得尝试的“合适”做法。然而，他没有谴责中国行动不力，表示“唯有朝鲜应受谴责”。他还表示，只有在朝鲜接受把无核化作为目标，美国才将与朝鲜谈判。在过去，这一条件已被证明是一个不可逾越的障碍。

While hawks advocate threatening Mr Kim’s existence as the only means to worry him enough to bring him to the negotiating table, Mr Tillerson appears to be calculating that the prospect of regime stability and long-term economic prosperity would be more alluring to the authoritarian leader.

尽管鹰派提倡把威胁金正恩的生存作为让他感到足够担心、从而来到谈判桌的唯一手段，但蒂勒森似乎认为，政权稳固和长期经济繁荣的前景将对这位专制领导人产生更大吸引力。

In earlier apparent efforts to explore other avenues, Mr Trump has suggested he would “be honoured” to meet Mr Kim and once suggested, during his campaign, he might eat a hamburger with him.

在此前明显是探索其他手段的尝试中，特朗普暗示，他将“很荣幸”会见金正恩，在竞选中也曾暗示，他也许会跟金正恩一起吃汉堡。

Mr Trump has vacillated over the potential role of China, at times appearing to beseech it to handle North Korea — whose economy depends overwhelmingly on trade with Beijing — or expressing exasperation it has not done enough.

特朗普对中国的潜在角色摇摆不定，有时似乎是恳请中国解决朝鲜问题——朝鲜经济极其依赖对华贸易——或者是对中国做得不够表示恼怒。

Relations with China are “at a bit of a pivot point”, Mr Tillerson said of America’s relationship with the world’s second-largest economy, referring to four decades of peace between the two countries. He said he hoped they could deal with their emerging differences, including over North Korea, “in a way that does not lead to open conflict”.

美中关系或多或少“处于一个转折点”，蒂勒森在谈起美国与全球第二大经济体的关系时表示。他指的是两国之间长达40年的和平。他说，他希望美中两国能处理好正在显现的分歧——包括在朝鲜问题方面的分歧——“不要造成两国公开冲突”。