韩国将组建一支武装无人机部队，一旦朝鲜半岛出现冲突，无人机群将蜂拥飞向朝鲜。目前首尔方面正寻求增强军事能力，以应对其拥有核武器的邻国。
Operated by the army, the unit will primarily engage in reconnaissance missions to survey developments at the North’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile sites, but could be used to launch swarm attacks, according to people familiar with the matter.
据知情人士称，该小队由韩国陆军指挥，主要执行对朝鲜核武器和弹道导弹试验场活动的侦察任务，但也可能用于发动无人机集群攻击。
The establishment of the army unit follows calls from western officials and analysts for South Korea to improve its advanced surveillance technology.
此前，西方官员和分析人士曾呼吁韩国改进其先进的监控技术。
It also comes amid growing concerns that the rapid advancement of Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes has in effect changed the balance of power in the region.
该无人机小队的成立，也正值外界日益担忧朝鲜核武和弹道导弹计划的迅速进展实际上已改变朝鲜半岛均势之际。
On Tuesday, William Perry, a US defence secretary in the Clinton administration, told a forum it would be “preferable” for South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear force — an option that the US has been historically reluctant to support.
周二，曾在克林顿(Clinton)政府担任美国国防部长的威廉•佩里(William Perry)在一场座谈会上表示，韩国和日本“最好”发展自己的核力量——这是一个美国一向不愿支持的选项。
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has rejected calls to develop nuclear weapons. But he is facing growing pressure from members of the conservative establishment, who view a balance of nuclear power between the two Koreas as the only way to maintain peace.
韩国总统文在寅(Moon Jae-in)拒绝了发展核武器的呼吁。但他面临的来自保守建制派成员的压力越来越大，后者把韩朝核力量平衡视为维持和平的唯一办法。
Instead, Seoul is pursuing the establishment of the drone unit that is likely to be modelled on the one created by Israel in 2010.
相反，首尔方面试图成立无人机部队，可能参照2010年以色列建立的无人机部队。
“South Korea’s army plans to create a drone-bot combat unit in 2018 and set up a professional combat team to operate it,” the defence ministry confirmed.
韩国国防部证实：“韩国陆军计划在2018年成立一支无人机机器人战斗部队，并组建专业的作战团队来指挥。”
Drones have featured in conflicts worldwide for more than a decade. But developments in artificial intelligence mean drones will increasingly be able to communicate movements with each other, in effect forming swarms.
无人机的参与已成为过去十多年全球各地冲突的特征之一。但人工智能的发展意味着无人机将日益能够彼此就行动进行沟通，实际上组成无人机集群。
“South Korea has reached a level of consensus on swarm technology, but adoption will take a while,” said a person familiar with the military developments. “The army is facing [political] pressure to reduce its forces, so it has to come up with new ideas.”
“韩国已经就无人机集群技术达成了共识，但需要一段时间才能采用该技术。”一名了解韩国军事动向的知情人士表示，“陆军正面临裁军的(政治)压力，因此它不得不想些新主意。”
The technology is being pursued in China, where some believe the country should adopt an “asymmetric” drone strategy rather than try to close the gap in traditional capabilities with the US.
中国正在发展这项技术，一些人认为中国应该采取“非对称的”无人机战略，而不是试图缩小其在传统军事能力上与美国的差距。
Experts say such technology could have lethal and non-lethal capabilities. In the case of the latter, a swarm of thousands of cheap but connected drones could prevent area access by clustering around and blocking ships or aircraft.
专家称，此类技术可能具备致命性和非致命性的军事能力。在非致命性的军事能力方面，由数千架价格低廉但相互连通的无人机组成的集群，可以通过包围和封锁船只或飞机来阻止其进入相关区域。
“Some of us in the field proposed the Republic of Korea military should take advantage of this superiority against North Korea,” said Bong Young-shik, an expert on North Korean military developments at Yonsei University.
“我们在该领域的一些专家建议韩国军方应该利用这种优势来对付朝鲜，”延世大学(Yonsei University)朝鲜军事发展方面的专家奉英植(Bong Young-shik)表示。
“Although it is unlikely, if the South Korean military wants, these drones can carry bombs, as the nation is no longer bound by payload limits,” he added, referring to a decision by the Trump administration this year to lift limits on South Korean munitions.
他补充称，“尽管不太可能，但如果韩国军方希望的话，这些无人机可以携带炸弹，因为韩国已经不再受有效载荷限制。”他指的是指今年特朗普政府决定解除对韩军售中的这种限制。
Yesterday, Seoul said it would increase its military budget by 7 per cent next year — its biggest jump since 2009 — as a result of the “grim security reality”.
昨天，首尔方面表示，由于“严峻的安全形势”，明年将把军事预算提高7%——这是自2009年以来的最大增幅。
