South Korea's live-fire naval exercise--largely aimed at deterring North Korean submarines--on Friday drew an instant protest from not Pyongyang--repeat not Pyongyang--but Tokyo.

韩国海军周五进行了实弹演习，主要目标是阻止朝鲜的潜艇。然而此次演习立即遭到了抗议，但抗议方不是平壤，而是东京。

The Japanese protest to the South Korean military drill may sound weird given that Seoul and Tokyo are usually on the same side in the U.S.-led alliance against hostile North Koreans in the region, but an old territorial dispute prompted Tokyo's protest.

考虑到韩国和日本通常都跟美国站在同一条战线上对抗朝鲜，日本对韩国军事演习提出抗议听起来有点奇怪。不过，引发抗议的导火索是双方长期存在的领土争端。

Japan demanded that South Korea call off the drill taking place near the disputed Liancourt Rocks, claimed by both for decades, lying midway in waters between the two countries.

日本要求韩国停止在有领土争议的利扬库尔岩(Liancourt Rocks)附近进行的军演。利扬库尔岩位于两国海域的中间，韩国称为独岛(Dokdo)，日本称为竹岛(Takeshima)，两国都声称拥有主权，为此争执了几十年。

Seoul dismissed the call from Tokyo.

首尔方面没有理会日本的要求。

'When it comes to conducting a military drill for the self-defense of the Republic of Korea, any outside demand or interference is not a subject for consideration,' South Korean defense ministry spokesman Wi Yong-seop told a briefing, confirming the exercise was conducted as scheduled on Friday.

韩国国防部发言人韦永瑞(Wi Yong-seob)在新闻发布会上说，韩国的军事演习是出于自卫目的，任何外部要求或干涉都不会被考虑。他证实，军事演习按原计划在周五进行。

A South Korean police contingent is now stationed at the islets, called Dokdo by Korea and Takeshima by Japan. Seoul has had its navy and coast guard conduct drills nearby to bolster its ownership.

目前韩国一支警察部队已经驻扎在独岛。为了宣示主权，韩国海军及海岸警卫队在独岛附近多次举行军事演习。

The defense ministry distributed a photo of a South Korean navy boat firing a ship-to-ship cruise missile during the one-day exercise on Friday. It declined to give further details.

韩国国防部公布的一张照片显示，在周五为期一天的演习中，一艘韩国军舰发射了一枚舰对舰巡航导弹。韩国国防部拒绝透露更多细节。

Defense officials in Seoul privately said the drill aimed to warn North Korea against any provocations, especially after dictator Kim Jong Un inspected a naval unit in the North earlier this week. State-run KCNA news agency recently issued a series of photos of Mr. Kim himself boarding a North Korean submarine in an apparent move to boost combat morale in case of war with the South.

国防部官员在首尔私下里表示，这次演习的目的是警告朝鲜不要进行任何挑衅，特别是在朝鲜领导人金正恩(Kim Jong Un)本周早些时候视察了朝鲜海军的一支部队后。朝鲜中央通讯社(Korean Central News Agency)最近公布了金正恩登上朝鲜一艘潜艇的多张照片。金正恩此举显然是为了在一旦与韩国开战的情况下鼓舞战斗士气。

State Yonhap news agency said on Friday that South Korea mobilized 19 navy ships, two surveillance aircraft and a helicopter to 'detect, chase and destroy North Korean submarines' during the drill taking place in waters 20 kilometers (13 miles) south of the disputed islets.

韩国联合通讯社(Yonhap News Agency, 简称：韩联社)周五称，在这次军演中，韩国动用了19艘军舰、两架侦察机和一架直升机来“探测、追踪并摧毁多艘假想的朝鲜潜艇”，演习地点是韩日争议岛屿以南20公里的水域。

The exercise occurred at a delicate time when Tokyo was unveiling its review of Japan's landmark 1993 apology over the use of South Korean women at Japanese military brothels during World War II, which was seen by some Koreans as a Japanese attempt to backpedal from the previous expression of remorse.

此次演习的时间微妙，恰逢日本政府发表有关就慰安妇问题道歉的调查报告。外界认为，日本现在发布该调查报告是想收回之前的悔罪表态。日本曾在1993年就二战期间使用朝鲜半岛的妇女充当慰安妇一事进行道歉，这一道歉具有标志性意义。

Relations between Seoul and Tokyo are at their lowest ebb for years.

目前，日韩关系正处于数年来的最低点。