朝鲜前外交官太永浩本月在韩国首尔宣传自己的回忆录。 JUNG YEON-JE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

SEOUL, South Korea — The bloody purges by the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, of his country’s elites and the execution of his uncle were driven in part by his feelings about his mother, whose background is a tightly guarded secret in the country, according to a new book by a senior diplomat who defected.

韩国首尔——据一位叛逃的高级外交官所著新书称，朝鲜领导人金正恩对朝鲜上层的血腥清洗以及处决他的姑父，部分原因在于他对母亲的感情。他母亲的背景是朝鲜严防死守的秘密。

The author, Thae Yong-ho, recounts in the book that Mr. Kim’s mother, Ko Young-hee, was born in Japan — something that was considered a serious shortcoming by North Korea’s ruling elites. Her marriage to Mr. Kim’s father was never endorsed by his paternal grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the nation’s founder.

作者太永浩(Thae Yong-ho)在书中描述，金正恩的母亲高容姬(Ko Young-hee)在日本出生——这在朝鲜的统治上层来看来是一个严重的缺点。她与金正恩父亲的结合从未得到他的祖父、朝鲜国父金日成的认可。

Mr. Thae writes that since childhood, Kim Jong-un appeared to have blamed the uncle he had executed in 2013, Jang Song-thaek, for preventing Ms. Ko from befriending his paternal grandfather.

太永浩写道，至于2013年被处决的姑父张成泽(Jang Song-thaek)，金正恩似乎从小就觉得是他令高容姬无法亲近自己的祖父。

2011年，一位据信是金正哲的人（中左）在新加坡埃里克·克莱普顿的音乐会上。 KOREAN BROADCASTING SYSTEM, VIA REUTERS

The 542-page book, titled “Cryptography From the Third-Flood Secretariat,” recounts Mr. Thae’s life as a North Korean diplomat before he fled to South Korea in 2016, becoming one of the highest-profile defectors from the North in years. He does not spare criticism of the secretive Kim family, which has ruled North Korea since its founding in the late 1940s.

这本书名为《三楼书记室的暗号》(Cryptography From the Third-Flood Secretariat)，长达542页，详细记述了太永浩在2016年逃往韩国之前身为朝鲜外交官的生活，他是这些年来脱北者中身份最高的人之一。对于从1940年代末建国以后便一直统治着朝鲜的神秘金氏家族，他做了毫不留情的批评。

When the North suspended border talks with South Korea last week, it cited as one of the reasons the interviews and speeches Mr. Thae has given in Seoul this month to promote his book. North Korea’s state media called Mr. Thae “human scum” and said he was hurling “mud at the dignity of the supreme leadership” of the North.

上周，朝鲜暂停了与韩国的边界谈判，称太永浩本月在首尔宣传新书时所做的访谈和演讲是其原因之一。朝鲜官方媒体称太永浩是“人渣”，并称他是在“污蔑朝鲜最高领袖的尊严”。

The book provides a rare window into the life of the leader’s brother, Kim Jong-chol, who is three years older than Mr. Kim but was passed over when their father chose the younger brother as a successor. A former sushi chef for the Kim family who is Japanese has said he once heard their father call the older brother too effeminate to lead the highly militarized country.

本书为一窥金正恩之兄金正哲(Kim Jong chol)的生活提供了难得的机会。他比金正恩年长三岁，但父亲在选择接班人时，选择了弟弟而非哥哥。一位曾在金氏家族内担任寿司厨师的日本人表示，他有一次听到他们的父亲说，哥哥过于柔弱，无法领导这个高度军事化的国家。

Kim Jong-un, 34, is the youngest of three sons of his father and predecessor, Kim Jong-il. After his father’s death in 2011, the younger Mr. Kim took over and consolidated power through a series of deadly purges.

现年34岁的金正恩是前任领袖金正日的三个儿子中最小的一个。父亲在2011年去世后，年轻的金正恩通过一系列的有效清洗接管并巩固了权力。

The brothers also had an older half brother, Kim Jong-nam, who was once considered their father’s favorite. He lived in exile abroad until being assassinated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February last year, a killing that the young leader is accused of ordering to remove a potential challenger to his rule.

两兄弟还有个同父异母的哥哥金正男(Kim Jong-nam)，他一度被认为是父亲的最爱。金正男一直流亡国外，直到去年2月在马来西亚吉隆坡遇刺身亡。年轻的金正恩被指为排除自身统治的潜在威胁而授意这场谋杀。

In contrast, according to Mr. Thae’s book, Kim Jong-chol receives full protection from his younger brother, enjoying perks available for family members. Little is known about Kim Jong-chol except that he and Kim Jong-un studied in Switzerland as teenagers and that he was an avid guitarist.

相反，据太永浩的书称，金正哲得到了弟弟全方位的保护，享受着只有家人才有的福利。人们对与金正哲有关的事所知甚少，只知道他和金正恩少年时都曾在瑞士留学，以及他是一名狂热的吉他手。

In a series of encrypted emails in 2015, Mr. Thae — who at the time was the No. 2 diplomat in North Korea’s London Embassy — received instructions for handling a special visitor from Pyongyang: Kim Jong-chol. He wanted to attend an Eric Clapton concert there.

在2015年的一系列加密电子邮件中，时任朝鲜驻伦敦大使馆第二号外交官的太永浩接到了特别指示，要求负责一位来自朝鲜的特别来客：金正哲。他来此是想参加一场埃里克·克莱普顿(Eric Clapton)的音乐会。

The leader’s brother was such a fan of Mr. Clapton that the North Korean government once made a deposit of one million euros, about $1,170,000, on a contract to invite him to perform in Pyongyang, Mr. Thae said. But the musician declined and the deposit was returned.

太永浩称，金正恩的这位兄长非常喜欢克莱普顿，以至于朝鲜政府曾在一份合同中提供100万欧元定金（约合117万美元），邀请克莱普顿赴平壤演出。但是这位音乐家拒绝了，定金也被退了回去。

For the London concert, the book says, Mr. Thae was ordered to secure six tickets and two suites at one of the city’s best hotels and to make reservations at top restaurants. After the brother landed in London late at night, flying first-class via Moscow, he ordered Mr. Thae to take him straight to the HMV music store on Oxford Street and to bang on the door to have the store opened for him.

该书称，为了伦敦的那场音乐会，太永浩受命购买六张演出票，并在该市最好的一家酒店定两个套房，在顶级餐厅里预订位置。金正哲乘坐头等舱经莫斯科深夜飞抵伦敦后，命令太永浩直接带他去牛津街的HMV唱片店，他拼命敲门，要求商店为他开门。

“On my way to London, all I could think of in the plane was visiting the music shop,” Mr. Thae quotes him as saying.

“来伦敦的飞机上，我心里只有一件事：去这个唱片店，”太永浩称金正哲曾这样说。

Mr. Kim’s brother was eventually persuaded to instead visit the shop when it opened the next day. But Mr. Thae said the trouble for him and his staff was just beginning. The brother insisted on smoking wherever and whenever he wanted. And despite all the scouting for top-notch restaurants, he also liked to eat at McDonald’s.

金正恩的哥哥最终被说服，等第二天商店开门时再来。不过太永浩称，他和手下的麻烦才刚刚开始。金正哲坚持要求，无论何时何地，他想抽烟就要抽烟。尽管他们费尽心机找了很多一流餐厅，但他也喜欢在麦当劳用餐。

On the city’s Denmark Street, which was lined with guitar shops, “he was as happy as if he owned the entire world,” Mr. Thae said. At one shop Mr. Kim picked a guitar and let loose riffs that impressed the shop’s owner so much that they played an impromptu duet.

伦敦的丹麦街上有很多吉他店。太永浩写道，在那里，“他非常高兴，就像拥有了全世界”。在一家店里，金正哲拿起一把吉他，随手弹了几段，打动了店老板，他们即兴表演了一场二重奏。

At the Clapton concert, the book recounts, Mr. Kim snatched up T-shirts, albums and other souvenirs. During the performance, he was completely taken over by the music, standing up, wildly clapping and raising his fist.

该书写道，在克莱普顿的音乐会上，金正哲购买了T恤和唱片等纪念品。演出中，他完全被音乐迷住了，他站起来，疯狂地鼓掌，还举起拳头。

2011年，在平壤金正日的葬礼上，金正恩（中左）和身后他的姑父张成泽。 ASSOCIATED PRESS

Back at the hotel, at the suggestion of the still-excited visitor, the two men and the other North Korean diplomats present drank all of the liquor in their minibars.

回到酒店，在这位依然兴奋的客人的建议下，两人以及在场的其他朝鲜外交官喝光了客房小酒吧里所有的酒。

But during his 61 hours with the brother, Mr. Thae said, he found him to be completely sidelined from Mr. Kim’s power apparatus. Unlike the other Kim family members — who are usually referred to as “commander comrades” — he carried no such title.

不过太永浩写道，在与金正哲相处的61个小时里，他发现，金正哲完全被排除在金正恩的权力机构之外。金氏家族的其他成员通常被称为“指挥官同志”，金正哲没有这样的头衔。

The brother once sang the American song “My Way” in the car and his eyes grew misty, Mr. Thae said. “He was just a guy crazy about music and the guitar.”

太永浩写道，金正哲曾在车里唱起美国歌曲《我的路》(My Way)，唱的时候，眼神有点迷离。“他只是一个迷恋音乐和吉他的人。”

Mr. Thae writes in the book that his own disillusionment with the Kim family deepened with the devastating North Korean famine of the 1990s.

太永浩在书中写道，1990年代朝鲜的毁灭性饥荒加深了自己对金氏家族的幻灭感。

While Mr. Thae was serving in Denmark, North Korean delegates came to buy cows for a special farm that provided dairy goods and beef for the Kim family alone. Another delegate came to buy Danish beer for the elites as many North Koreans starved. The country’s diplomats in Europe resorted to smuggling cigarettes to make ends meet while lobbying for humanitarian aid for people back home.

太永浩在丹麦任职期间，朝鲜代表来到该国，为一家专向金氏家族提供奶制品和牛肉的特供农场采购奶牛。在许多朝鲜人快被饿死之际，另一名代表来这里，为朝鲜上层购买丹麦啤酒。朝鲜驻欧洲的外交官们一边为朝鲜人民游说人道主义援助，一边通过走私香烟来达到收支平衡。

Mr. Thae recalls the Danish government’s telling him and his ambassador that it would provide $1 million in food aid through the World Food Program.

太永浩回忆称，丹麦政府对他和大使说，丹麦将通过世界粮食计划署(World Food Program)提供100万美元的粮食援助。

“The Danish minister was speechless when he saw tears in our eyes,” Mr. Thae writes. “But we imagined people back home happy with food.”

“那位丹麦部长看着我们眼中的泪水，说不出话来，”太永浩写道。“但我们想像着，祖国的人民有食物吃会很高兴。”

作者：CHOE SANG-HUN

翻译：纽约时报中文网

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