This hasn't changed with the thirdgeneration Kim,
这一点在第三代的金正恩身上也没有变，
who took up the regime reins in 2011
金正恩在2011年接掌了朝鲜的政权，
and introduced his own political philosophy in March 2013 to cement his revolutionary credentials:
并于2013年3月推出了自己的，巩固其革命资历的政治哲学：
byungjin, which means to “advance in tandem,” referring to the nation's nuclear program and economy.
“并行路线”，意为“齐头并进”，指的是朝鲜的核计划和国家经济要两手抓。
North Korea has already made tremendous progress in both.
而这两方面朝鲜都已经取得了巨大的进展。
The regime now has a nuclear-armed international ballistic missile that experts believe can devastate any U.S. city.
朝鲜目前拥有一枚带核武器的国际弹道导弹，专家们认为，这枚导弹可以摧毁美国的任何一座城市。
By relaxing state control over the economy,
通过放松政府对国家经济的控制，
North Korea experienced 3.9% growth in 2016—its fastest rate of this century—despite ever-tougher sanctions.
2016年，朝鲜出现了3.9%的经济增长——本世纪以来该国最快的增速水平——尽管受到了日趋严厉的（经济）制裁。
But how does one square byungjin with disarmament?
问题是，如何让“并行路线”和核裁军保持协调?
Socialist revolutionary doctrines are not policies to be tweaked or discarded,
社会主义革命理论不是可以改变或抛弃的政策，
but distillations of a leadership's eternal will.
而是一位领袖永恒意志的精华。
Even when announcing the dismantlement of his only known nuclear testing site—
即便在宣布拆除唯一已知的核武试验基地时——
which Kim since said would take place in May, with South Korean officials watching—
自那以后，金正恩一直说将在5月具体执行拆除操作，韩国官员对此都在拭目以待——
he described the weapons it had spawned as a “treasured sword.”
他对这些武器的描述依然是“珍贵的宝剑”。
Lest we forget: North Korea already signed a denuclearization agreement with South Korea in 1992.
别忘了：朝鲜早在1992年就与韩国签署了无核化协议。
And with the U.S. in 1994.
1994年也与美国签署了无核化协议。
And with the “six-party talks” participants in 2005.
2005年与“六方会谈”各国签署这一协议。
And with the Obama Administration in 2012.
2012年又同奥巴马政府签署了无核化协议。
The North Korean regime has inculcated every strata of society with the need of nuclear weapons to keep them safe and complete the revolution in the South.
朝鲜政权不断对社会各阶层灌输核武器对保护他们的安全，完成南韩革命的重要性。
A 2012 constitutional amendment described the nation as a “nuclear-armed state.”
2012年的一项宪法修正案甚至对朝鲜做出了“拥有核武器的国家”这样的描述。
To abandon its nukes “is something so radically revolutionary
放弃核武器这件事的变革性
that it's analogous to the Pope abandoning Jesus Christ and adopting Buddhism,” says Pinkston.
就好比教皇抛弃耶稣而皈依佛教，”平克斯顿说。
There is still reason to try again, especially because the military “option” is nothing of the kind,
我们还是有理由再试一次，尤其因为平壤常规的化学生物核报复就能让首尔、东京，甚至是洛杉矶或华盛顿这样的城市变成废墟，
given that Pyongyang's conventional, chemical, biological and nuclear retaliation could lay waste to Seoul, Tokyo and now even Los Angeles or Washington.
所以军事“选项”和教皇抛弃耶稣根本就是两码事。
But denuclearization will take a titanic feat of patience and trust-building.
只是，无核化需要极大的耐心和信任。
On May 5, North Korea's clocks will leap forward by half an hour.
5月5日，朝鲜的时钟就将向前跳跃半个小时。
For the regime, to truly leave its past behind won't be so easy.
但对朝鲜政权来说，要真正把过去抛诸脑后并非易事。
