Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy addressed South Korea's Parliament

Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy addressed South Korea's Parliament

Transcript¹

South Korea was among the first Asian nations to sanction Russia, but it faces conflicting political and economic interests.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Asian nations are divided over how to respond to the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed South Korea's parliament today. But, as NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, South Korea faces economic and political constraints² on what it can do to help Ukraine.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE³: In his virtual address to lawmakers, President Zelenskyy referred to the 1950-1953 Korean War, in which South Korea repelled⁴ a North Korean invasion with the help of U.S. and United Nations troops. He asked Seoul to send heavy weapons.

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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Korean).

KUHN: "If Ukraine receives such weapons," he said through an interpreter, "they will not only save Ukrainian lives, but also save the Ukrainian nation and other nations from Russia's aggression⁵." South Korea, along with Japan and Singapore, was among the first Asian countries to join the West in sanctioning Russia. Seoul has banned transactions with major Russian banks and tightened⁶ export controls on strategic technologies. But so far, South Korea has shipped only nonlethal military aid to Ukraine. And it's drawn⁷ some criticism for dithering.

Sheen Seong-Ho, a professor of international security and East Asia at Seoul National University, explains.

SHEEN SEONG-HO: South Korean government concerned about South Korean business. We might have quite a big invested interest in the Russian market.

KUHN: Nevertheless, in March, automaker Hyundai suspended operations at its St. Petersburg factory, and Samsung stopped shipping⁸ cellphones and semiconductors⁹ to Russia. Seoul also hesitated to sanction Russia because it plays a role in the North Korean nuclear issue.

It's not the most important player now, says Sheen Seong-Ho. But...

SHEEN: If you think about the long-term perspective of establishing a kind of peninsula peace or peace regime in the region, definitely Russia will become one of the key members.

KUHN: Sheen notes that, with the crisis in Ukraine and their own domestic issues, major powers, including the U.S. and China, have little bandwidth for heightened tensions between the Koreas.

SHEEN: The problem is, what about North Korea, which seems to be quite, at the moment, unhappy or angry about American inaction.

KUHN: He says that Pyongyang is not content to be put on hold and is upping the ante by scrapping¹⁰ its moratorium¹¹ on long-range missile and possibly nuclear tests, too. All this presents a stiff challenge to Seoul, as a new presidential administration takes over next month.

Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 repelled   

v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开

参考例句：

• They repelled the enemy. 他们击退了敌军。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm. 而丁梅斯代尔牧师却哆里哆嗦地断然推开了那老人的胳臂。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

5 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

6 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

9 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句

10 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

11 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。