美国有线新闻 CNN 时隔近两年 朝韩首次通过板门店热线联络渠道通话

 

First story this January 5th, the ringing of a telephone is being called a potential breakthrough between North and South Korea. There's a hotline that connects that two countries near their shared border.

On Wednesday afternoon, for the first time in almost two years, a representative from North Korea called a representative from South Korea.

We don't know much about what was said on the call. It lasted 20 minutes. South Korean officials said the two sides were just checking technical issues. But several more calls were made in the hours that followed and analysts¹ are saying this is a good sign for the two countries.

The call was made within hours of an order by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. His country's government-controlled media announced that he'd given the go-ahead to establish communications with South Korea.

And this could be because North Korea wants its athletes represented at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Those are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, 50 miles from the nation's border with the North. The games start on February 9th.

Another international event concerning the games, the United States and South Korea have agreed not to hold their cooperative military exercises during the Olympics. The U.S. and South Korea are allies, the North has repeatedly spoken out against their military drills. U.S. officials are skeptical² about whether North Korea really means to improve relations on the Korean peninsula. But U.S. President Donald Trump³ reportedly told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that America supports the South Korean leader and would be willing to help in communications with the North.

Now, we're taking you to the tense border that divides North and South Korea, where a simple phone call might have changed the whole atmosphere.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Somewhere in the border village of Panmunjom is a hotline, and a settlement that spans both North and South Korea within the DMZ, one of the most heavily guarded borders on earth. It's official title, the Panmunjom communications channel, a political lifeline between the two Koreas that is still technically⁴ at war.

This view from the South Korean side, the green phone to call the North, the red to receive calls from the North. Different time zones for each state above the phone, half an hour divides the neighbors and a sign that reads, South/North direct phone.

The buildings on either side of the border, where the phones are located are only about 18 meters away from each other.

South Korea says that the first two channels were connected in 1971, and they now have 33 different communication channels. But North Korea hadn't responded to them since February 2016.

The South Koreans say that they had two liaison⁵ officers who called every day at 9:00 a.m. when they got to work and then again at 4:00 p.m., just before they left work. And they sat by the phone all day in case it rang.

JOHN DELURY, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: It's not a matter of who initiates⁶ what, it's that they get a positive dynamic going and that's what we're seeing now. It's not about North calling South and South calling the North. The two are sending positive signals back and forth⁷, and they're creating momentum⁸ which can lead to some breakthroughs.

HANCOCKS: The hotline is sparking much interests, most notably⁹ for its apparent use of Windows XP. South Korean officials declined to comment on that, but it is simply a means to an end.

Paul Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

1 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

2 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

5 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

6 initiates   

v.开始( initiate的第三人称单数 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• The booklet initiates us into the problems of living abroad. 这本小册子使我们对国外的生活情况有了初步了解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Everybody initiates and receives messages in some form or other. 每个人都以各种不同的方式发出并接收信息。 来自辞典例句

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。