美国国家公共电台 NPR In North Korea's Capital, More Abundance Than Expected In Everyday Life

 

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Consumers in North Korea can now buy a local version of Spam, not to mention Oreo-like cookies from Vietnam. And in the capital Pyongyang at least, everyone's looking down at their cell phones. These are things that journalist Jean Lee did not see five years ago when she opened the Associated Press bureau there. She's now a global fellow at the Wilson Center. And we reached her today in Pyongyang, where she's attending a medical conference.

JEAN LEE: I was invited to observe and attend this medical conference but mostly to follow this amazing team of Korean-American surgeons who are here to carry out operations. So I was very curious and wanted to get inside some operating rooms. And that's what I've been doing here in Pyongyang this week.

SIEGEL: And I should explain that Jean Lee is not whispering for the purposes of secrecy¹. You have laryngitis, and we're being solicitous². For months since the start of the Trump³ administration, it seems tensions have been escalating⁴ with North Korea. President Trump told China to solve North Korea or he will. And today, North Korea accused the CIA of plotting to assassinate⁵ Kim Jong Un with biochemical substances. How are people reacting to all of this over there? Is it duck and cover?

JEE: It's amazingly calm. You would be surprised at how calm things are here. And I have to say that like most North Koreans, I've been largely cut off from the screaming headlines that we've been seeing. I didn't have internet access for several days. And as you probably know, most North Koreans don't have internet access. They get their news from their own state media. So unless they read about it in their own state media or see it on the evening news, they're not very aware of it.

To be honest, it's remarkable⁶. We're not seeing people who are preparing for war. They've had a month really of some big anniversaries. They celebrated⁷ May Day. But they're getting ready now for a busy season of rice planting in May. And so they're gearing up for that. And they are completely unfazed, it seems, by all the rhetoric⁸ that we're hearing overseas.

SIEGEL: This being the first time that you've been back to North Korea in a few years, I wonder what strikes you? What's changed, or do things not change in North Korea?

JEE: It's interesting being back. You know, I have to point out that I've only been in Pyongyang which is the showcase capital. This is a city of elites⁹. And so I'm only getting that side of the picture. It's like only going to Manhattan, rather than seeing the rest of the United States. That said, it's surprising given the - what we hear about the sanctions how things have progressed.

Everybody has a smartphone, sometimes two. Everybody's on their phones. They're all playing video games. They're doing what we do with our cell phones as well. They're checking the news, messaging their friends. There's quite a bit more English, which is interesting. English is the main language that children learn here. There are certainly a lot more cars, which is surprising given the concerns about fuel shortages.

I did some shopping today. Today was a day to stock up on a few things. And it's just amazing the kinds of products that they have on the shelves. Certainly wasn't the case when I started coming to North Korea. So in some ways, life has improved for the people of Pyongyang. That said, I think that things are still incredibly difficult in the countryside. And that's only going to get worse, of course, with the tightened¹⁰ sanctions.

SIEGEL: But when you say that there were products that you were surprised to see, what kinds of things are you talking about? And can people - can North Koreans afford those things?

JEE: When you go into the stores, for example, I saw so many different varieties of potato chips, varieties of canned goods, so their equivalent of Spam, for example. I did take a picture of a Oreo knockoff called Oakie (ph) which I thought was perhaps funny for those who are from Oklahoma. But this is a product that looks to be imported from Vietnam. But all kinds of things - computers, all kinds of things that you might not expect to see in a country that is still very poor.

SIEGEL: I want to ask you about a story that we and other news agencies have reported on, that's the detention¹¹ of another American in North Korea. An accounting¹² instructor¹³ was trying to leave the country when officials detained him there. Is that something that's been reported on state media? Are you familiar with it? And how is the case presented, if so?

JEE: Well, I'm certainly familiar with it. As a Korean-American, this is something that anyone who comes here on a regular basis would be paying attention to. But the North Koreans didn't hear about it until earlier this week when it was reported in their state media. So it certainly was something that we discussed as a group with our North Korean guides. It was the first that they had heard about it.

And we don't really have a lot of details. And so we'll certainly be waiting and watching to see what he is being accused of. They have a very, very exhaustive penal¹⁴ code. And it is very easy to break those laws. And that's what makes being here dangerous for anyone.

SIEGEL: Journalist Jean Lee speaking to us via Skype. First, thank you so much for battling laryngitis to talk with us about things in Pyongyang, North Korea.

JEE: Thanks for having me.

SIEGEL: And Jean Lee is now a global fellow at the Wilson Center.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOUR TET'S "CIRCLING")

1 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

2 solicitous   

adj.热切的，挂念的

参考例句：

• He was so solicitous of his guests.他对他的客人们非常关切。
• I am solicitous of his help.我渴得到他的帮助。

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 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

5 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

9 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

10 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。

11 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

12 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

13 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

14 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。