The South Korean and US intelligence services’ inability to pick up any sign of what had happened attests to the North Korean regime’s opaque character, but also to their own deficiencies. American planes and satellites watch North Korea day and night, and the most sensitive intelligence-gathering equipment covers the frontier between the two Koreas.
韩国和美国情报机构没能获得任何消息固然体现了朝鲜体制的不透明，但同时也表明它们自身的无能。美国飞机和卫星日夜监视着朝鲜，朝韩边界则属于最先进的情报收集设备的覆盖范围。尽管如此，我们依然对朝鲜所知甚少，因为所有重要信息都掌握在有着保密癖的一小撮领导人手里。