安倍晋三考虑与金正恩举行首脑会晤

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is weighing a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to seek a breakthrough in a dispute over Japanese citizens abducted by Pyongyang.

日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)正在考虑与朝鲜领导人金正恩(Kim Jong Un)举行首脑会晤，以寻求就遭朝鲜绑架的日本公民相关争议取得突破。

Since North Korea’s pivot to diplomacy began early this year, Mr. Abe has stayed on the sidelines, wary of Pyongyang’s intentions. During that time, Mr. Kim has held two meetings each with the leaders of China and South Korea, and a historic first summit with President Donald Trump.

自今年年初朝鲜转向外交渠道以来，安倍晋三一直保持观望，对平壤的意图持谨慎态度。在此期间，金正恩已与中韩领导人分别举行了两次会面，并与美国总统特朗普(Donald Trump)举行了历史性的首次会晤。

Now, it appears Mr. Abe may dive in.

现在看来安倍晋三也可能参与其中。

“We should have a summit meeting that resolves our mutual issues,” chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said at a news conference on Thursday.

日本内阁官房长官菅义伟(Yoshihide Suga)在周四的新闻发布会上称，日朝应该举行一次首脑会晤，以解决共同的问题。

A first meeting between the two leaders could come as early as August or September, according to several mainstream Japanese press reports, although officials say nothing has been decided. The priority, they say, is that any talks produce tangible results.

据日本几家主流媒体报道，两位领导人的首次会晤最早可能在8、9月份举行。但日本官员称尚未决定任何事宜。他们表示，优先考虑的因素是任何谈判都要产生切实成效。

Japan and North Korea have no formal diplomatic ties, but on Thursday foreign ministry officials from the two countries held talks on the sidelines of a conference in Mongolia, Japan’s foreign ministry said.

日本和朝鲜之间没有建立正式外交关系，不过日本外务省表示，周四在蒙古举行的一次会议的间隙，两国外交官员举行了会谈。

Tokyo’s caution reflects its fraught experience in negotiations with North Korea, particularly a 16-year-long struggle to get a full and transparent account of what happened to Japanese citizens who were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s.

日本政府如此谨小慎微是因为，在与朝鲜谈判方面，日本有过不愉快的经验，尤其是16年来，日本一直孜孜不倦地要求朝鲜全面且毫不遮掩地说明，上世纪七八十年代被绑架到朝鲜的日本公民的情况。

Japanese leaders say that account, along with the release of any living abductees, remains a priority. Japan says at least 12 citizens are unaccounted for, perhaps dozens more.

日本领导人称，要求朝鲜说明情况以及释放还在世的被绑架者仍是当务之急。日本表示，至少12名公民下落不明，这个数量至多可达数十人。

“Of course we have to make progress on the abduction issue in any summit meeting with North Korea,” Mr. Abe told relatives of abductees in a meeting in Tokyo on Thursday. Mr. Abe said Mr. Trump had raised the Japanese abduction issue with Mr. Kim, but it isn’t clear how the North Korean leader responded.

周四，在东京举行的一次会议上，安倍晋三对被绑架者家属说：“如果与朝鲜召开任何峰会，我们无疑必须在绑架问题上取得进展。”安倍晋三称，特朗普向金正恩提起过日本被绑架者的问题，但金正恩是怎么回应的，目前尚不清楚。

Japan also wants to ensure that any North Korean move to dismantle its nuclear-tipped missile arsenal as a result of talks with the U.S. includes midrange missiles that threaten Japan but not the U.S. homeland. Pyongyang fired two missiles over Japan last year.

日本还希望确保，如果朝鲜与美国经谈判达成拆除可搭载核弹头导弹武器库的协议，其中应包含不能威胁美国本土但可威胁日本的中程导弹。朝鲜去年发射的两枚导弹曾飞越日本。

Japanese officials say they are aligned with the U.S. in their firm approach to North Korea, although Mr. Trump’s willingness to make concessions such as canceling large-scale military exercises with South Korea has caused some concern in Tokyo.

日本官员表示，日本站在美国一边，支持美国对朝鲜采取坚定立场，尽管特朗普的妥协意愿（如取消大规模美韩军演）令日本有些担忧。

The abduction issue often gets equal or greater attention than the missile threat in Japan, in part because Mr. Abe was responsible for seeking a resolution of the problem under the administration of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

相对于导弹威胁，绑架问题在日本国内经常受到同等或更大的关注，原因之一是，安倍晋三曾在前首相小泉纯一郎(Junichiro Koizumi)执政时负责为该问题寻找解决方案。

In 2002, Mr. Abe traveled with Mr. Koizumi to Pyongyang for the first ever Japan-North Korea summit with Kim Jong Il, the father of North Korea’s current leader. At that meeting, the elder Mr. Kim admitted to abducting Japanese to train them as agents.

安倍晋三2002年曾随同小泉纯一郎访问平壤，与时任朝鲜领导人金正日(Kim Jong Il)举行了有史以来首次日朝峰会。金正日是现任朝鲜领导人金正恩的父亲。在那次会议上，金正日承认绑架了日本人，目的是训练他们成为特工。

Five abductees were then allowed to return to Japan. Mr. Kim said all others were dead, but the evidence subsequently provided by North Korea appeared faked. The dispute derailed an agreement to normalize relations that would have seen Japan provide financial compensation to North Korea for its colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

五名被绑架者随后被允许返回日本。金正日称，其他被绑架者已全部死亡，但朝鲜随后提供的证据似乎是伪造的。这一争端导致日朝两国未能就关系正常化达成协议。若两国关系正常化，日本本应就1910-1945年间对朝鲜半岛的殖民统治向朝鲜提供经济补偿。

Sporadic talks have been held on the abduction issue since then but without significant progress. Over the past few years, Tokyo has been one of the strongest advocates of economic and political pressure on Pyongyang.

自那时以来，日朝就绑架问题断断续续进行了一些谈判，但未取得重要进展。过去几年，日本一直是最强烈主张在经济和政治方面向朝鲜施压的国家之一。

Some families of the abductees have called for Mr. Abe to re-engage with North Korea, but analysts say a summit meeting would be a high-risk move for the Japanese leader. Failure to make progress could be damaging for the prime minister, who has spent much of the year under pressure from an array of political scandals.

一些被绑架者的家属曾呼吁安倍晋三与朝鲜恢复接触，但分析人士称，对安倍晋三来说，举行峰会是一个高风险的举动。若峰会未取得进展，安倍晋三的声誉将受损。在过去一年的很长时间里，安倍晋三已受到一系列政治丑闻的困扰。

Limited concessions made by North Korea in summit talks with South Korea and the U.S. also raise questions about how much Mr. Kim would offer Mr. Abe.

朝鲜在朝韩峰会和朝美峰会中做出的让步有限，因此金正恩愿意给安倍晋三多少甜头仍是未知数。

“Other than a desire to collect the reparations promised long ago by Mr. Koizumi, Mr. Kim has no need to be too accommodating to Mr. Abe’s political needs,” said Daniel Sneider, a visiting scholar at Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.

斯坦福大学Shorenstein亚太研究中心访问学者Daniel Sneider称：“除了想把小泉纯一郎承诺的赔款拿到手，金正恩无需过多地照顾安倍晋三的政治需求。”

If North Korea were to offer new details on the abductions, Mr. Abe might face the different dilemma of Pyongyang’s demands for the previously agreed payout, which could weaken the impact of international economic sanctions on North Korea. Japan has been insistent that sanctions pressure remain in place until North Korea denuclearizes.

如果朝鲜提供涉及绑架的新细节，可能会令安倍晋三陷入两难，朝鲜可能会要求日本支付已承诺的赔款，若支付这笔赔款，则将削弱国际社会对朝制裁的效力。日本坚持认为应该保持制裁压力，直到朝鲜弃核。

Nonetheless, some analysts say a summit breakthrough would be a highly alluring prospect for Mr. Abe, who faces a party leadership election in September amid slumping public-approval ratings.

尽管如此，有分析人士认为，在支持率大幅下滑而9月份将迎来党内领导人选举的情况下，取得日朝峰会突破的可能性对安倍晋三将有很大的诱惑力。

“The abduction issue could bring a miracle to boost Mr. Abe’s public-support rate,” said Tomoaki Iwai, a professor of political science at Nihon University in Tokyo.

东京的日本大学(Nihon University)政治科学教授Tomoaki Iwai称：“如果在绑架相关问题上取得进展，有可能成就拉高安倍晋三支持率的奇迹。”