美国国家公共电台 NPR--North Korea advances its nuclear capabilities

North Korea advances its nuclear capabilities¹

Transcript²

North Korea has successfully tested a solid fueled intercontinental ballistic missile. The test marks a major advance in North Korea's nuclear capabilities.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

North Korea says it tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

That means new rockets that can be launched far more quickly than the ones in its current arsenal³. Experts are saying it represents another important step toward Pyongyang completing its nuclear arsenal.

MARTIN: NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from Seoul to explain the significance of this move.

Hello, Anthony.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE⁴: Hey, Michel.

MARTIN: So what did North Korea say about this new weapon and the test launch?

KUHN: North Korea said that this is a new intercontinental ballistic missile called the Hwasong-18, which it says improves its ability to launch a quick nuclear counterattack. And they said they want to make their enemies suffer from fear and anxiety. Leader Kim Jong Un was there to watch this test launch along with his wife, his sister and his young daughter. And any time there's a really important event like this, it's a family affair. And that's how they highlighted it.

MARTIN: Tell us more about why this solid-fuel rocket is such an improvement for North Korea's capabilities.

KUHN: Well, when you have a liquid-fueled missile, it has to be fueled up while the missile is sitting on a launch pad. And that makes it a target. With a solid-fuel missile, they have it prefueled, ready to go. They have it hidden in a tunnel. Often, they just rolled it out on a truck, point it up, and they launch it in a matter of minutes. So what this means in practical terms was spelled out for us by Jeffrey Lewis, who's an arms control expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, Calif. Let's hear him.

JEFFREY LEWIS: It's just going to be much, much harder for the United States to ultimately find and destroy these missiles in a conflict.

KUHN: And as we've said previously⁵, Kim Jong Un has already publicly listed the weapons he wants to develop in the next few years. And he's gone down the list and done it - hypersonic missiles, submarine-launched missiles, cruise missiles, train-launched missiles - all just to make it easier for North Korea to hit its enemies and harder for its enemies to hit it.

MARTIN: Do we know what the U.S. and South Korea plan to do in response?

KUHN: Well, just very recently, the U.S. and South Korea announced that they staged joint⁶ Air Force drills involving at least one U.S. B-52 strategic bomber⁷. I think it's safe to say that they're going to continue to focus on deterring⁹ North Korea. They've been holding the most in the biggest military drills in five years this year. The U.S. is under pressure to demonstrate its commitment to defending its ally, South Korea. And the South is trying to reassure¹⁰ its public that they still have the military technology edge over North Korea and that the U.S. is giving them a greater say in how they deter⁸ North Korea. The U.S., meanwhile, continues to insist that the door to negotiations¹¹ with North Korea remains¹² open, but diplomacy¹³ has now been stalled for four years with no signs of any progress.

MARTIN: Is North Korea going to want to put a nuclear warhead on this new missile?

KUHN: Well, some analysts¹⁴ believe that the Hwasong-18 still needs to be tested, but essentially¹⁵, they have a new generation of missiles out now, and they're going to focus on new warheads to put on them. And that's why people have been expecting a seventh underground nuclear test for about a year or so. It hasn't happened, possibly because he would trigger a stronger response from the international community. But they need to test more nuclear bombs to finish the arsenal. So I think we can expect them to do that at a time of their choosing.

MARTIN: That is NPR's Anthony Kuhn joining us from Seoul.

Anthony, thank you so much.

KUHN: Thanks, Michel.

1 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

2 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。

3 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

4 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。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

8 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

9 deterring   

v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• However, investors say are a number of issues deterring business. 然而，投资者表示，有很多问题让他们却步。 来自互联网
• It's an effective way of deterring potential does online, the logic goes. 逻辑上这是抑制潜在线上威胁的有效方法。 来自互联网

10 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

11 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

14 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。

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。