美国和韩国已开始年度联合军事演习，这将加剧与朝鲜的紧张关系。本月早些时候，朝鲜威胁将引爆一场潜在的核冲突。
The US and South Korea have begun their annual joint military exercises, heightening tensions with Pyongyang that earlier this month threatened to erupt into a potential nuclear conflict.
朝鲜政府经常抨击美韩“乙支自由卫士”(Ulchi-Freedom Guardian)演习（注：题图为韩国警察参加“乙支自由卫士”演习），称这是侵略演练。今年并无不同，朝鲜官方媒体威胁称，如被挑衅将对美国展开“无情打击”。
The reclusive regime in North Korea regularly lambasts the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian manoeuvres, saying they are a rehearsal for invasion. This year has been no different, with North Korean state media threatening “merciless strikes” against the US if provoked.
然而，参加今年军演的美军数量从2016年的2.5万人降至1.75万人，美国国防部长詹姆斯?马蒂斯(James Mattis)否认此举可被解读为迎合朝鲜。
However, the number of US troops involved in this year’s war games has been cut to 17,500 from 25,000 in 2016, a move that James Mattis, US defence secretary, denied could be interpreted as pandering to Pyongyang.
“人数是为了达到演练目标而设计的，你总是会选择你想要强调的地方，”马蒂斯表示，“目前，我们非常强调指挥所作战，因此要将各方面的努力融合起来。”
“The numbers are by design to achieve the exercise objectives, and you always pick what you want to emphasise,” Mr Mattis said.
与一年一度的“秃鹫”(Foal Eagle)联合军演（包括大规模实地演练）不同，“乙支自由卫士”军演基于电脑化模拟，官员们表示，这种演习属于防御性质。
“At present, there is a heavy emphasis on command post operations, so the integration of all the different efforts.”
上周日，朝鲜官方媒体批评美国，称这些演习是“缺乏基本判断的鲁莽行为”。
Unlike the annual Foal Eagle drills that involve extensive field manoeuvres, the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian war games are based on computerised simulations that officials say are defensive in nature.
朝鲜的声明称：“特朗普集团宣布针对朝鲜展开不计后果的核战争演习，还有叫嚣‘斩首行动’、‘特殊任务’、‘先发制人攻击朝鲜’以及‘预防性战争’，这些都是鲁莽的行为，将把当前局势推入不可控制的核战争阶段。”
On Sunday, North Korean state media criticised the US, calling the exercises “a reckless act bereft of even elementary judgment”.
美国和韩国拒绝了中国和俄罗斯提出的联合提议：暂停军演，换取朝鲜冻结核和弹道导弹试射计划。
“The Trump group’s declaration of the reckless nuclear war exercises against the DPRK along with the vociferous call for the ‘beheading operation’, ‘special operation’, ‘pre-emptive attack on the North’ and ‘preventative war’, is reckless behaviour driving the situation into the uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war,” said the statement, referring to North Korea by its official abbreviation.
美韩联合军演高度隐秘，但据信，其中包括模拟战场以及卫星图像，以推断朝鲜军队驻地和金正恩(Kim Jong Un)的领导风格。除了1.75万美军，预计有数万名韩国人参加，还有来自英国、澳大利亚、丹麦和哥伦比亚的士兵。
Both the US and South Korea have rejected a joint proposal from China and Russia to suspend military exercises in exchange for a freeze in North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests.