President Park Geun-hye has told the South Korean military to respond strongly to any North Korean provocation, in Seoul’s strongest warning yet to Pyongyang. 韩国总统朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)责令韩国军方对朝鲜的任何挑衅行为作出严厉回应，这是首尔迄今向平壤发出的最强烈警告。

North Korea on Saturday said it had entered a “state of war” with South Korea, raising the stakes on the peninsula, which has been divided since the Korean war. The announcement came as the US and South Korea conduct military exercises. 朝鲜上周六宣布与韩国进入“战争状态”，这使得自朝鲜战争以来一直分治的朝鲜半岛变得更加剑拔弩张。朝鲜发出这一威胁之际，美韩正在进行联合军演。

“If there is any provocation . . . there should be a strong response in initial combat without any political considerations,” Ms Park told defence officials on Monday. “如遇任何挑衅行为……应从交战伊始就作出不考虑任何政治后果的强烈回应，”朴槿惠周一对防务官员表示。

Her comments suggest that Seoul will be less tolerant of Pyongyang than under Lee Myung-bak, the former president who was criticised for not responding more forcefully when North Korea sank a South Korean ship and shelled an island. 她的言论似乎表明，相比前总统李明博(Lee Myung-bak)主政时期，韩国对朝鲜将不再那么克制。李明博的批评者称，在朝鲜击沉韩国一艘军舰和炮击韩国一个海岛这两件事上，他作出的回应都不够有力。

Mr Lee later amended military rules of engagement that had been designed to prevent hostilities from escalating. The new rules require the South Korean military to retaliate immediately, and then report to the government – underscoring the meaning of Ms Park’s comment about responding “without political considerations”. 李明博后来修改了韩国军队的交战规则，此前这些规则的设计宗旨是防止擦枪走火的事件升级。新的交战规则要求韩军立即采取报复行动，然后再向政府汇报——朴槿惠有关在作出回应时“不考虑任何政治后果”的言论即源出于此。

“South Korea’s military failed to react strongly to the North’s provocations in the past because of political considerations,” said Park Young-ho, an expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification. “韩国军方以前因拘泥于政治考虑而未能对朝鲜的挑衅作出强有力回应，”韩国统一研究院(Korea Institute for National Unification)专家朴泳镐(Park Young-ho)表示。

In South Korea, the presidential Blue House said Ms Park’s comments referred to the military’s obligation to follow the new combat rules. “As the country’s military commander, I will trust the judgment of our military who is directly facing the North’s sudden and unpredictable provocations,” she told her officials. 在韩国，青瓦台总统府表示，朴槿惠的言论是指军方有义务遵守新的作战规则。“作为国家的最高军事指挥官，我将信任直接面对朝鲜突然且不可预测之挑衅的我军的判断，”朴槿惠对官员们表示。

South Korean analysts were divided over whether her approach would help ease the escalation in tensions on the peninsula. Boo Hyung-wook, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses, said her comments were “inevitable”. 对于朴槿惠的态度会否有助于缓解朝鲜半岛紧张局势升级，韩国分析人士意见不一。韩国国防分析研究所(Korea Institute of Defense Analyses, KIDA)研究员Boo Hyung-wook表示，朴槿惠此言是“不可避免的”。

“It is part of a crisis management to ease public concern over North Korea and to deter Pyongyang from any provocations,” said Mr Boo. “If we lose out in this verbal and psychological warfare, we will be the North’s hostage forever.” “这是危机管理的一部分，目的是缓解公众对朝鲜的担忧，并威慑平壤方面、使其不敢进行任何挑衅。”Boo Hyung-wook表示，“如果我方输掉这场口水战和心理战，我们将永远是朝鲜的人质。”

But some experts said her emphasis on retaliation without political considerations could risk escalating limited military skirmishes into all-out war. One professor at University of North Korean Studies, said the situation “could get out of control”. 但也有一些专家表示，朴槿惠强调不考虑政治后果、报复了再说，可能使局部的擦枪走火升级为一场全面战争。首尔朝鲜研究大学(University of North Korean Studies)的一名教授称，局势“可能失去控制”。

“That’s why political considerations are needed. If you just rely on combat manuals, military clashes could escalate and get out of control. So an automatic military retaliation without political considerations can be very risky.” “这就是为什么需要考虑政治后果。如果你只是依赖战斗手册，军事冲突就可能升级、变得失控。所以说，由军方自主发起报复而不考虑政治后果的安排可能蕴含着很大的风险。”