美国北韩核问题特使抵达平壤，希望能够说服北韩领导人不要违背他们去年所作的承诺。 如果会谈失败，北韩可能会生产更多用于制造核武器的材料。

　　U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill made the short drive Wednesday from Seoul to South Korea's heavily armed border with North Korea, headed for a rare visit to Pyongyang.

　　美国国务院助理国务卿希尔星期三从首尔驱车前往和北韩接壤的重兵把守的边境线，准备对平壤进行一次不同寻常的访问。

　　Hill has been the point man in six-nation negotiations aimed at getting rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities. He says Pyongyang's recent moves to eject international inspectors and resume activity at its main nuclear reactor have dealt a serious blow to the process.

　　希尔是北韩无核化六方会谈的关键人物。他说，平壤最近驱逐国际核查人员以及恢复其主要核反应堆的作法都对和谈进程造成了严重的打击。

　　"What they've been doing obviously goes counter the spirit of what we've been trying to accomplish... so I would say we're in a very difficult, very tough phase of the negotiation," he said.

　　希尔说：“他们的所作所为显然和我们努力要实现的目标背道而驰，因此我认为我们正处于非常艰难的谈判阶段。”

　　Before leaving the South, Hill told reporters he wants to persuade North Korea to fulfill its promise to set up verification for the nuclear declaration it made earlier this year. American and South Korean officials say the North offered clear verbal assurances at Beijing talks, last year, it would agree to a verification system in line with usual international practices - such as surprise visits by international inspectors to nuclear sites.

　　希尔离开首尔之前对媒体表示，他希望说服北韩恪守承诺，为今年稍早公布的核清单建立核查机制。美国和韩国官员说，北韩去年在北京曾做出明确的口头承诺，将接受符合国际惯例的核查机制，其中包括国际核查人员对核设施的突然检查等。

　　Hill says he understands the North is reluctant to follow through, but says the process cannot move forward without a verification agreement.

　　希尔表示，他了解北韩不情愿接受核查，但是没有核查机制，去核过程就无法向前推进。

　　"It's not to say that we're going to have anything verified. The verification will actually take place later on," he said. "But we need to know what the rules of the road are for verification."

　　希尔说：“这并不是说我们就要检查所有的东西，其实核查还要稍后才会进行。但是我们需要知道核查的规则是什么。”

　　In August, President Bush cited the North's delay on a verification agreement when he decided not to remove North Korea from a State Department list of nations suspected of sponsoring terrorism. North Korea has maintained the verification issue is separate from the American promise to remove it from the terror list.

　　今年8月，布什总统决定不将北韩从国务院列出的支持恐怖主义国家的名单上除名，原因就是北韩拖延就核查机制达成协议。北韩则坚持说，核查问题跟美国将北韩从支持恐怖主义国家名单上除名的承诺是两回事。

　　South Korea's Yonhap news agency quotes an unnamed South Korean government source as saying there are signs of activity near the site of North Korea's 2006 underground nuclear test. The source in the report speculates North Korea may be trying to repair the site - possibly for a followup test - and says the South is monitoring the activity closely.

　　韩国联合通讯社引述没有透露姓名的官方消息人士的话说，在接近北韩2006年地下核试验的地点，又出现了活动迹象，估计北韩可能在试图修复这个地方，有可能是为了继续进行核试验。这位消息人士说，韩国正在严密监视有关活动。