South and North Korea have resumed traffic across their tense border to a jointly run industrial zone, renewing hopes for the project's viability. The move reflects a thaw in tensions after recent diplomatic moves between the two Koreas.
韩国和北韩恢复了跨越紧张边界，通往双方共同经营的工业园区的交通，这使人们重新对这一合建项目再次抱有希望。这一动向反映了南北韩最近外交行动后双方紧张关系的缓解。
South Korean Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said Tuesday that traffic across the North Korean border is set to resume at levels not seen for more than a year.
韩国统一部女发言人李钟株(Lee Jong-joo)星期二表示，穿越北韩边境的交通即将恢复到一年多前的水平。
She says starting from Tuesday, up to 23 trips will be allowed back and forth across the North-South border to a joint industrial zone in the North Korean city of Kaesong. Up to four trips a day will be permitted between South Korea and a joint resort zone at the North's Kumgang mountain.
这位女发言人说，从星期二开始，南北韩边境将允许高达23次往返，前往北韩城市开城的联合工业园区；韩国和北韩金刚山联合渡假区之间，将允许每天高达四趟往返交通。
Traffic to both zones nearly ground to a halt soon after the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak early last year. Mr. Lee ended the practice of his two predecessors of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars in aid and investment to the North, regardless of how it behaved. The Lee administration says economic help will be conditioned on the North's willingness to give up nuclear weapons.
前往上述两个区域的交通在去年韩国总统李明博就职后几乎完全停顿。李明博不顾北韩的表现如何，还终止了其两位前任的做法，不向北韩转交数亿美元的援助，停止对北韩的投资。李明博政府说，经济援助的条件将是北韩愿意放弃核武器。
However, the North has made diplomatic overtures to the South recently including a recent meeting between senior envoys and President Lee.
不过，北韩最近对韩国做出了一系列外交姿态，其中包括其高级特使最近会晤李明博总统。
South Korean companies employ more than 30,000 low-wage North Korean workers in the Kaesong complex, producing goods like cosmetics and sportswear. For those companies, the resumption of normal traffic is cause for celebration.
韩国公司在开城工业园区雇用了三万多名低薪的北韩工人，生产化妆品、体育服装之类的产品。对这些公司而言，恢复交通正常化值得庆祝。
Park Young-man is the executive director of the Corporation of Kaesong Industrial Council.
朴英曼是开城工业局公司的执行董事。
Park says the news made his fellow managers cheerful, and even boisterous. He says this is the high season for manufacturing, and many clients have been phoning with positive expectations.
他说，这一消息使他的经理同行们感到高兴，甚至欣喜若狂。他说，目前是生产的旺季，许多客户打电话来对前景看好。
Yoo Chang-gun, vice-chairman of the Corporation of Kaesong Industrial Council, is approaching the news with caution.
开城工业公司董事长柳长郡对这一消息表示谨慎。
Yoo says he thinks it will take considerable time to recover from the huge blow that the border closure has dealt to companies operating in Kaesong. He says even loyal clients had stopped ordering from his company because of the border uncertainty. He hopes the South Korean government will get actively involved in assisting with a Kaesong zone recovery.
他说，他认为还需要相当长的时间，在开城运营的公司才能从封闭边界的巨大打击中恢复过来。他说，甚至一些忠诚的客户都已经停止从在开城的公司订货，原因是边界的不确定性。他希望韩国政府积极介入开城工业区的相关事务，帮助公司恢复运营。
Separately, North Korean media report a senior diplomatic team has gone to China. Beijing hosts six-nation talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. Pyongyang abandoned those talks in April, shortly before it conducted its second nuclear weapons test.
另外，北韩媒体报道说，一名高级外交人员已前往中国。北京是举办旨在结束朝鲜核武器计划六方会谈的东道国，平壤4月退出了六方会谈，并在不久前进行了第二次核武器试验。 |