导读:今天，我们就要来了解一下朝鲜的导弹之城元山市。

There’s one word to describe the 125-mile journey east from Pyongyang, the country’s capital, to Wonsan: bumpy.

有一个词语可以来描述从朝鲜首都平壤出发往东行进125英里抵达元山的行程：颠簸。

It takes almost five hours, with numerous stops. One lasts 20 minutes — because there’s major roadwork ahead.

几乎需要花上五个小时，经过很多站点。一个站点走上20分钟——因为前方有大型道路施工。

Wonsan is a mid-sized industrial city, the 5th largest in the country. It’s popular among tourists and known for its fishing and seafood.

元山是一座中型工业城市，朝鲜第5大城市。它很受游客们欢迎，以捕鱼和海鲜闻名。

It’s also one of North Korea’s main missile launch sites.

它还是朝鲜主要的导弹发射地。

The country’s missile program is advancing fast, defying efforts by the US and its allies to curb them. North Korea now has the dreaded intercontinental ballistic missile — possibly nuclear capable — putting the US mainland within striking range for the first time ever.

朝鲜的导弹计划进展很快，藐视美国及其盟友为遏制它们所作的努力。现在，该国拥有令人生畏的洲际弹道导弹——可能具备核能——使得美国本土史上首次处于打击范围之内。

The nation’s founder, Kim Il Sung, oversaw the first Scud missile launch in the 1980s. His son and successor, Kim Jong Il, launched more than a dozen missiles during his 17-year rule.

朝鲜的建立者金日成于20世纪80年代视察了首枚飞毛腿导弹的发射。他的儿子及继位人金正日在他那17年的执政期间发射了逾12枚导弹。

But Kim Jong Un has taken this to a new level since taking power in 2011, launching satellites, ordering nuclear tests and firing missiles with frightening regularity.

但是，金正恩自2011年掌权后将其上升到了一个新的水平，以令人恐惧的频率发射卫星、下令核试验和发射导弹。

But it’s sometimes easy to forget all this in Wonsan. I ask Kim Un Taek, a retiree, what it’s like to live here and he says it’s really good because of the clean air from the sea.

但是，人们往往容易忘记所有这些都发生在元山。我问退休人士金恩泰在这里生活怎么样，他说，非常好，因为临海的空气十分清新。

I tell him his city is known around the world because of its missile launches and ask him if he’s ever heard them.

我告诉他，他的城市因其导弹发射在全世界有名，我问他，他是否曾听说过这些。

“Yeah, I’ve seen them. So satisfying. Wham! We see it going up.”

“是的，我见过。大快人心。嘣！我们看到它升上天了。”

I ask him what message those missiles in the sky send him.

我问他天空中的那些导弹向他传递了什么？

“Pride,” he say.

他说：“自豪。”

Kim, like many others, doesn’t understand why the US feels so threatened by the missile program.

跟很多其他人一样，金恩泰不理解为何美国觉得受到了导弹计划的威胁。

“It’s a work my country is doing for our own defense. Why is the US imposing sanctions?” he asks, puzzled.

他迷惑地问道：“这是我的国家为了自卫所做的工作。为何美国要进行制裁？”

Besides missiles, one of Wonsan’s proudest achievements is its new hydroelectric plant, built in large part by the city’s residents themselves. It makes Wonsan one of the few places in the country without regular blackouts.

除了导弹，元山最为自豪的成就之一是其新的水力发电站——主要由该城市的居民自己修建。这使得元山成了朝鲜少有的不常断电的地方。

（来源：爱语吧）