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South Korea's president-elect says he plans to do away with the ministry¹ that has handled relations with North Korea for nearly 40 years. But, many of the lawmakers who would have to approve the plan are opposed to it.

韩国当选总统李明博说，他打算取消已经负责北韩关系达40年之久的政府部门。但是，许多韩国议员都反对这样做，而有关计划必须经过他们认可。

President-elect Lee Myung-bak's plan is to fold the Unification Ministry into the Foreign Ministry. The move would be part of a broader government restructuring plan that would close four other ministries² and parcel their duties out to various government departments.

当选总统李明博计划把统一部并入外交通商部。有关措施将是政府重组全面方案的一部分，这个方案还将关闭另外4个政府部门，把这4个部门的职能交由其它政府各部处理。

Lee Kyung-suk, the head of incoming administration's transition team, said Wednesday that inter-Korean relations have changed since the Unification body was established in 1969.

新政府过渡小组组长李庆淑星期三说，自韩国统一部1969年建立以来，朝鲜半岛南北的关系有了变化。

She says North and South Korea have grown so close that the work of unifying³ the two sides should no longer be put in the hands of one specific ministry. Instead, she says, all South Korean government ministries should be involved in reconciliation⁴ efforts, but those efforts should be kept consistent with a broader foreign policy approach.

她说，南北韩之间的关系如此密切，以至双方的统一工作不必再由某一特定政府部门来处理了，而该由韩国政府各部共同处理，但是将通过整体外交方针路线来保持有关努力的连贯一致性。

North and South Korea remain technically⁵ at war. A 1953 armistice⁶ halted fighting after the North invaded the South three years earlier. Neither formally recognizes the other as a separate country and each claims the right to speak for the entire peninsula.

严格来说，南北韩仍然处于战争状态。1953年的停战协议在北韩入侵韩国的3年后中止了战火。两方都不承认对方为独立国家，而且双方都声称自己拥有代表整个朝鲜半岛的发言权。

They have, however, given de facto recognition to each other, by holding two presidential summits since 2000 and a host of inter-Korean economic and cultural projects expanding North-South contacts. The Unification Ministry has managed these relations for Seoul.

但是他们通过2000年以来的两次首脑会晤以及多种促进南北交流的朝鲜半岛经济文化项目，实际上已相互承认了对方。韩国的统一部为首尔当局安排了这些关系发展。

Kim Yong-hun, a North Korea specialist at Seoul's Dongkuk University, says eliminating the ministry would be a mistake.

在首尔的东国大学的北韩问题专家金永勋说，取消统一部是错误的。

He says North Korea will take a pessimistic view of South Korea's intentions if the ministry is closed, because it has served as a counterbalance to North Korean structures in the past. He says North Korean authorities may feel President Lee is downgrading inter-Korean ties to just another foreign policy issue.

他说，如果韩国关闭统一部，北韩将对这样做的意图产生消极看法，因为这一部门过去曾对北韩政体结构起了抗衡作用。他说，北韩当局可能会觉得李明博总统把南北韩间的关系降低到仅为某一外交政策问题的级别。

Incumbent⁷ President Roh Moo-hyun and his predecessor⁸, Kim Dae-jung, viewed North-South relations as a unique and delicate matter to be handled separately from other foreign policy processes - including, at times, multinational⁹ efforts to get rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons.

现任总统卢武铉及其前任金大中，都认为南北韩关系是独一无二、又相当敏感的事务，得另行处理，因为它有别于其它外交方针程序，时而也有别于废除北韩核武器项目的多国谈判。

By contrast, President-elect Lee says North-South relations will depend on Pyongyang's progress in eliminating its nuclear programs.

形成对照的是，当选总统李明博却说，南北韩关系将取决于平壤在废弃本国核项目方面的进展。

The Lee administration will have an uphill battle to gain the necessary parliamentary approval for the move. Most of the conservative president-elect's liberal opponents, who still hold a legislative¹⁰ majority, issued statements Wednesday opposing the plan.

李明博政府必须作出艰巨的努力，他们的有关措施才能得到必要的国会支持。这位立场保守的当选总统的多数自由派反对者星期三发出声明，表示反对有关计划，而自由派人士仍然在韩国国会内占有多数席位。

Kim Byung-ki, an international relations professor at Seoul's Korea University, says Lee will probably compromise and allow some scaled-back form of the Unification Ministry to exist.

首尔高丽大学的一位国际关系教授说，李明博很可能会妥协，并允许统一部以缩减规模的形式继续存在。

"What the Unification Ministry will probably be geared toward would be to make sure that concrete policy toward North Korea is coordinated¹¹, consistent, logical, and continuous," Kim said. "But I don't think its main role will be to be the lead agency in unilaterally giving aid to North Korea."

他说：“统一部很可能会改组成这样的形式，即能确保针对北韩的具体方针协调一致、合乎逻辑并连贯继续。但是我并不认为统一部将成为主要发挥单方援助北韩作用的主导机构。”

Lee Myung-bak is scheduled to be sworn in as president on February 25.

李明博预定在2月25号宣誓就职。