South Korea has raised its military alert amid growing signs that North Korea may be preparing to launch missiles as its latest provocation on the divided peninsula. 韩国已提升军事戒备级别。目前有越来越多迹象显示，朝鲜可能在准备发射导弹，在韩朝分治的朝鲜半岛上做出最新挑衅。

The defence ministry said the South Korean and US joint military command had raised its “Watchcon3” status by one level amid “imminent signs” that Pyongyang could fire short- or medium-range missiles. 韩国国防部宣布，在迹象显示朝鲜可能很快发射短程或中程导弹的情况下，韩美联合军事指挥部已将“对北韩情报监视级别”(Watchcon)从第三级（重要威胁迹象——译者注）上调至第二级（严重威胁迹象——译者注）。

“They could fire the Musudan, Scud and Rodong missiles simultaneously or launch one of them,” said a defence ministry spokesman. “We’ve stepped up monitoring in case of any missile launches.” “他们可能同时发射舞水端(Musudan)、飞毛腿(Scud)和劳动(Rodong)导弹，也可能发射其中一种导弹，”韩国国防部一名发言人表示。“我方已加强对导弹发射的监视。”

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated in recent weeks as Pyongyang has issued provocative statements in response to UN sanctions and ongoing joint military exercises by South Korea and the US. On Tuesday, North Korea urged foreigners to leave South Korea to ensure their safety in case of nuclear war. 朝鲜半岛在近几周紧张加剧。平壤方面针对联合国制裁措施和韩美仍在进行的联合军演不断发布好战声明。周二，朝鲜促请外国人离开韩国，以便在发生核战争的情况下确保自身安全。

Speculation of a missile launch has mounted ahead of the April 15 anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung. The country tends to celebrate the date with demonstrations of military might. 4月15日朝鲜开国领袖金日成(Kim Il-sung)诞辰纪念日到来之前，有关朝鲜即将发射导弹的猜测越来越多。该国往往以展示军事力量的方式来纪念这个日子。

Yun Byung-se, South Korea’s foreign minister, said Seoul had asked China and Russia to rein in Pyongyang. 韩国外长尹炳世(Yun Byung-se)表示，韩国已请求中国和俄罗斯收敛朝鲜的行为。

Japan has deployed missile interceptors to protect its citizens in case of North Korea’s missile launch. Shinzo Abe, prime minister, said yesterday that Japan was taking “all possible measures” to ensure the safety of its people. 针对朝鲜可能发动的导弹袭击，日本已部署导弹拦截系统以保护本国公民。安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)首相昨日表示，日本将采取“一切可能的措施”确保国民安全。

In Washington, Admiral Samuel Locklear, the US commander in the Pacific, on Tuesday said North Korea had moved at least one medium-range Musudan missile to its eastern coast. He said the rocket, which has a range of 3,000-3,500 miles, could potentially target Guam, but not Hawaii or the US mainland. 在华盛顿，美国太平洋司令部(USPACOM)司令、海军上将塞缪尔•洛克利尔(Samuel Locklear)周二表示，朝鲜已将至少一枚舞水端中程导弹运往东海岸。他表示，这种导弹的射程介于3000至3500英里之间，潜在可能以关岛为目标，但打不到夏威夷或美国本土。

However, as North Korea has never flight-tested the Musudan missiles, some analysts believe it might not do so in such a high-profile situation, where a failed test would be very damaging to its credibility. Another option would be to fire the shorter range Scud and Rodong missiles, which South Korean officials say have also been moved to the north-east coast. 不过，由于朝鲜从未试射舞水端导弹，一些分析人士相信，该国也许不会在当前世人瞩目的时刻发射这种导弹，因为发射失败将严重损害其可信度。另一个选择是发射射程较短的飞毛腿和劳动导弹。韩国官员称，朝鲜也已把这两种导弹运往东北海岸。

Pyongyang has threatened a nuclear strike on the US although experts say it does not yet have the capacity to carry it out. North Korea advised foreign embassies to consider evacuating staff from its capital yesterday and urged foreigners to leave Seoul to avoid being dragged into a “thermo-nuclear war”. 平壤方面已威胁要对美国发动核打击，尽管专家们表示，该国尚未具备这种能力。朝鲜昨日建议外国使馆考虑从首都平壤撤离人员，并敦促外国人离开首尔，以避免被卷入一场“热核战争”。

No diplomats have left Seoul or Pyongyang because of the threats and South Koreans are responding calmly to the bellicose statements, which they interpret as typical bluster. 至今没有一个国家针对朝鲜发出的威胁从首尔或平壤撤离外交人员，韩国人也在镇定应对朝鲜的好战声明，视其为朝方典型的忽悠。