衛星夜景圖上的朝鮮無邊黑暗 與韓國兩個世界

One of the Most stunning--and revealing--photos ever taken of North Korea was a 2002 satellite image of the peninsula at night, shown by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a Pentagon briefing.

2002年某個夜晚的朝鮮半島衛星圖片是迄今爲止拍下來的最令外界震驚、也最能說明朝鮮問題的圖片之一。美國國防部長拉姆斯菲爾德(Donald Rumsfeld)在五角大樓的吹風會上拿出了這張圖片。

The photo showed the lights of South Korean conurbations, and even large clusters of fishing boats, in stark contrast to an almost entirely black North Korea. Other than a small spot of light in the showcase capital Pyongyang and the outline of the country, North Korea wouldn't have been visible at all.

從圖片上不僅可以看到韓國大都市燈火通明，甚至還能看到大量漁船的燈光。相比之下，朝鮮幾乎一片黑暗。除了國家輪廓依稀可辨以及首都平壤有少許光亮之外，朝鮮在圖片上幾乎完全不可見。

'South Korea is filled with lights and energy and vitality and a booming economy; North Korea is dark. It is a tragedy what's being done in that country,' Mr. Rumsfeld said.

拉姆斯菲爾德說，韓國燈火通明，充滿能量和活力，讓人覺得這是一個朝氣蓬勃的經濟體，而朝鮮則是一片黑暗，這個國家正在做的事其實是個悲劇。

Fast forward to 2014, and North Korea remains cloaked in blackness. In a new photo released by NASA on Monday and dated Jan. 30, the contrast between the bright lights across South Korea and a few dim spots in the North is, if anything, more pronounced. That may be because of the better resolution picture but it shows more light across South Korea, particularly in rural areas.

進入2014年，朝鮮仍籠罩在黑暗之中。美國國家航空航天局(NASA)週一發佈了一張拍攝日期爲1月30日的新圖片，從中可以看到韓國各地燈光璀璨，朝鮮則只有一些稀稀拉拉、昏暗無力的亮點，對比甚至更明顯了。這也許是因爲該圖片的分辨率較高，可以看到的韓國燈光比以前更多了，特別是在農村地區。

Pyongyang is still visible, along with a few faint spots in other cities like Wonsan on the east coast, but very little else.

在這張圖片上仍可以看到平壤，朝鮮東海岸的元山(Wonsan)等城市也有一點模糊的光亮，但其他地方則是無盡的黑暗。

'The darkened land appears as if it were a patch of water joining the Yellow Sea to the Sea of Japan. Its capital city, Pyongyang, appears like a small island, despite a population of 3.26 million (as of 2008),' NASA said in a statement issued with the photo.

NASA在發佈這張圖片時說，那片黑暗的土地看起來就像是一塊連接着黃海和日本海的水域，朝鮮首都平壤看起來像是個小島，儘管該市有326萬人口（截至2008年的數據）。

'These differences are illustrated in per capita power consumption in the two countries, with South Korea at 10,162 kilowatt hours and North Korea at 739 kilowatt hours,' it says.

NASA說，這些差異可從兩國人均能耗數據上得到說明，韓國人均電力消費量10,162千瓦時，朝鮮只有739千瓦時。

Under current leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been touting progress in urban construction and large-scale development projects like a ski resort, but its power supply remains highly unreliable, with regular blackouts.

在現任領導人金正恩(Kim Jong Un)的領導下，朝鮮一直高調宣傳該國在城市建設和滑雪度假村等大規模開發項目方面取得的進展，但朝鮮的電力供應仍相當不可靠，會定期停電。

Pyongyang says economic progress is one of its main policy goals. but without major reforms that would likely threaten the grip of its regime, it's hard to see the next satellite photo showing a much different scene.

平壤表示，經濟發展是朝鮮的主要政策目標之一。但若沒有大刀闊斧的改革措施（此舉或威脅朝鮮當局對政權的控制），在下一張衛星圖片上應該還是很難看到一個“明亮”的朝鮮。