VOA慢速英语2013 North Korea Executes Kim Relative

 

North Korea Executes Kim Relative

From VOA Learning English, this is In the News.

This week, North Korea executed the uncle of leader Kim Jong Un.  The official Korean Central News Agency said Jang Song Thaek was put to death on Thursday after  facing a special military court.  It said Jang was found guilty of attempting to overthrow¹ the state, party and leadership.  He was also accused of womanizing and drug  abuse. The announcement came just days after Jang Song Thaek was publicly ousted² from power for suspected disloyalty and corruption³.  Korean Central Television broadcast  images of his arrest on Sunday at a meeting of the Korean Workers’ Party.

On Friday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published pictures of Jang at the military trial.  They showed him lowering his head, with guards on both sides. Andrei Lankov is a professor of Korean history at Kookmin University in South Korea.  He says ousters, or purges⁴, of North Korean officials are not uncommon⁵.  But he  says the level of publicity⁶ in this case is unusual.

“In the past, hundreds or maybe even thousands of high level officials have been purged⁷.  Some of them executed.  Some of them were sent to exile or prison.  However,  with very few exceptions in most areas, purges have always been fixed⁸.  Unlike say the Soviet⁹ Union under Stalin, when they remove the high level official, they  usually did not make it public.  When they did, it was never on such a scale.” Leonid Petrov is a Korea expert with the Australian National University.  He questions whether Jang Song Thaek was actually plotting to overthrow the government. “I think this has nothing to do with what really happened.  Jang Song Thaek was a loyal member of Kim’s regime.  He was appointed by Kim Jong Il to supervise his  son.  Jang Song Thaek was doing everything possible to promote Kim Jong Un’s image.”

Leonid Petrov says a personal or family dispute could have led to the execution.  But he says it is also clear that Mr. Kim considered his uncle a threat.  And he says  the North Korean leader felt the need to send a message that he is in complete control. “The elites¹⁰ are scared to death at the moment.  And the grassroots population of North Korea also gets the message that it is Kim Jong Un who is in the driving seat.   They must follow his orders, and there’s simply no alternative or any place for dissent¹¹ in North Korea.”

Mr. Jang was quietly ousted from power not once, but two times under the former North Korean leader.  But he regained¹² power with the help of his wife Kim Kyong Hui,  the sister of the former leader. Much of North Korea’s central leadership is from the rule of Kim Jong Il.  Many officials are in their 60s or 70s.  This has led some observers to debate the level of  their support for 30-year-old Kim Jong Un.

Mr. Kim took power two years ago.  Since then, he has replaced more than 40 percent of high level officials, and built his rule with a younger generation loyal to him.

There were no signs of unrest in North Korea following the execution.  But the South Korean Defense¹³ Ministry¹⁴ said it was closely watching the North Korean military for  aggressive movements. On Friday, the office of South Korea’s president held a national security meeting to discuss the situation on the Korean peninsula.  A Unification Ministry official  said South Korea is watching the events with concern.

And that’s In the News, from VOA Learning English.  I’m Steve Ember.

1 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

2 ousted   

驱逐( oust的过去式和过去分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• He was ousted as chairman. 他的主席职务被革除了。
• He may be ousted by a military takeover. 他可能在一场军事接管中被赶下台。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 purges   

清除异己( purge的名词复数 )； 整肃（行动）； 清洗； 泻药

参考例句：

• Mandelshtam perished in the purges of the 1930s, Akhmatova remained silent. 曼杰利什坦姆在30年代的清洗中死去，阿赫玛托娃也销声匿迹。
• He purges his subconscious and meditates only on God. 他净化他的潜意识且只思念上帝。

5 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 purged   

清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响

参考例句：

• He purged his enemies from the Party. 他把他的敌人从党内清洗出去。
• The iron in the chemical compound must be purged. 化学混合物中的铁必须清除。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 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。

11 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

12 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。