SEOUL, South Korea — Satellite imagery indicates that North Korea is razing some facilities used for testing one of its most dangerous missiles after its leader, Kim Jong-un, announced a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests, according to an analysis released this week.

韩国首尔——据本周发布的分析报告称，在朝鲜领导人金正恩宣布暂停核试验和远程导弹试验后，卫星图像显示，朝鲜正在拆除一些用于测试该国最危险导弹之一的设施。
A “key missile test stand” that was used for testing missile ejections from canisters was demolished at a test site near Kusong in North Korea’s northwest, Joseph S. Bermudez Jr., an expert on the country’s weapons systems, said in a report published Wednesday on the website 38 North.
朝鲜武器系统专家小约瑟夫·贝穆德斯(Joseph S. Bermudez Jr)在北纬38度网站(38 North)周三发布的报告中说，朝鲜西北部龟城附近某试验场内用于从发射筒试射导弹的“关键导弹试验台”被拆除。
The Kusong test site was being closely monitored by missile experts because North Korea launched its first solid-fuel midrange ballistic missile, known as Pukguksong-2, from there in February last year.
自朝鲜去年2月发射了首枚固体燃料中程弹道导弹“北极星-2型”(Pukguksong-2)后，导弹专家便开始对龟城试验场进行密切监视。
Besides its intercontinental ballistic missiles, solid-fuel missiles have been among the most worrisome additions to North Korea’s growing arsenal of ballistic missiles. They can be launched faster and are easier to transport and hide, making them more suitable for surprise attacks.
除洲际弹道导弹外，在朝鲜弹道导弹库的增长中最令人担忧的还有固体燃料导弹。它们可以更快发射，更易运输藏匿，更适用于突袭。
Work to raze the missile test stand and nearby support structures began in the second week of May and appeared nearly complete in satellite imagery taken on May 19, Mr. Bermudez said. He said the stand was the only known facility in North Korea used for land-based, canister-launched ballistic missile ejection tests, which are critical for developing the solid-propellant Pukguksong-2 or longer-range systems.
贝穆德斯表示，拆除导弹试验台和附近辅助建筑的工作始于5月的第二周，5月19日拍摄的卫星图像显示工作几乎已经完成。他表示，该试验台是朝鲜唯一已知用于陆基发射筒发射弹道导弹试验的设施，对于研发使用固体燃料的北极星-2型或更长射程的导弹系统至关重要。
Militaries use canisters to “cold launch” missiles, ejecting them high into the air before their fuel ignites. The North’s Pukguksong series are cold launch missiles.
军队使用发射筒“冷发射”导弹，会在点燃燃料前将其射至高空。朝鲜的北极星系列便是冷发射导弹。
If North Korea had indeed perfected cold launch technology, it would help the nation better protect its mobile missiles from environmental damage while being driven around, and from fiery exhaust during launch. The cold launch method can also make missiles harder to detect once fired.
如果朝鲜确实已完善了冷发射技术，将有助于朝鲜更好地保护机动导弹在运送过程中免受环境破坏，发射时高温燃气的影响。冷发射法也可以在导弹发射后使其更难被发现。
During a military parade in April last year, North Korea also showed off very large, apparently intercontinental, ballistic missiles encased in tubes or canisters, indicating that the North was also developing cold launch long-range missiles.
在去年4月的一次阅兵中，朝鲜还展示了装在管内或是发射筒内的巨大弹道导弹——显然是洲际导弹，这表明朝鲜也在发展冷发射远程导弹。
The significance of the removal of the test stand was unclear.
拆除试验台的意义尚不清楚。
Mr. Bermudez said it could not be determined whether North Korea was suspending missile ejection tests or was planning to build similar facilities in the future.
贝穆德斯表示，朝鲜是在暂停导弹发射试验还是计划在未来建造类似设施，还无法确定。
Jeffrey Lewis, a North Korea specialist at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Calif., tweeted that the test stand was used to test missile cold ejections, not for flight tests. He said he would strongly dispute the characterization of the facility as “key.”
加利福尼亚蒙特雷(Monterey)米德尔伯里国际研究学院(Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey)的朝鲜问题专家杰弗里·刘易斯(Jeffrey Lewis)在推文中说，该试验台被用于测试导弹冷发射，而非飞行测试。他说，他强烈反对将其列为“关键”设施。
The Kusong test site was not the only place North Korea has tested its Pukguksong-2 system. In May last year, it launched the same missile from Pukchang, south of Kusong. South Korean officials suspected that a North Korean missile that exploded shortly after takeoff from the east coast in April last year may also have been a Pukguksong-2 missile.
朝鲜不止在龟城试验场测试过北极星-2型系统，在去年5月，朝鲜在龟城南部的北仓发射了相同的导弹。韩国官员怀疑，去年4月从东海岸发射不久后爆炸的朝鲜导弹或许会是一枚北极星-2型导弹。
Mr. Kim, North Korea’s leader, announced on April 20 that he would discontinue nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, doing so as his government negotiated with Washington on holding a summit meeting with President Trump. North Korea invited outside journalists to watch the shutting down of its only known nuclear test site on May 24.
朝鲜领导人金正恩4月20日宣布，他将暂停核试验和洲际弹道导弹试验。此时他的政府正与华盛顿展开谈判，讨论与特朗普总统举行首脑会晤。5月24日，朝鲜邀请了外国记者观看朝鲜唯一已知核试验场的关闭过程。
The summit meeting is now scheduled to take place in Singapore next Tuesday.
首脑会晤现在定于下周二在新加坡举行。
After a series of tests, North Korea declared late last year that it had mastered the ability to launch a nuclear missile capable of reaching the mainland United States.
在进行了一系列试验后，朝鲜在去年年末宣布已掌握了能打至美国本土的核导弹能力。
But its Hwasong-series intercontinental ballistic missiles use liquid fuel. Unlike solid-fuel missiles, liquid-fuel rockets have to be loaded with fuel just before launching, a process that can take up to an hour and make the missile vulnerable to a pre-emptive strike.

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