VOA慢速英语 President Park's Visit Marks US-South Korea Ties

AS IT IS 2015-10-17 President Park's Visit Marks US-South Korea Ties

South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama Friday. The visit marks the South Korean leader’s second visit to Washington since becoming president in 2013.

President Obama’s press secretary Josh Earnest said President Park’s visit is centering on issues related to South Korea’s economy, security and world issues. The visit is also meant to show the “rock-solid” commitment to the US-South Korea alliance.

Jim Schoff is an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Asia Program. He says the meeting is about setting a strategic direction for the next five to 10 years.

Mr. Schoff said South Korea’s relationship with China and how that relationship  “can be beneficial to the alliance” going forward will be subjects for the talks.  He said the two leaders might discuss the entry of THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense¹, missiles should North Korea continue to increase its missile capabilities².

President Park open to better ties with Japan

On Thursday, President Park spoke³ with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. She told those attending that she would be open to a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Such a meeting could help improve relations between the two countries.

She also said an upcoming three-way summit of Northeast Asia's leading powers might be an opportunity for a formal meeting with Mr. Abe. "I do feel I can have such a meeting with him," Ms. Park said.

She expressed hope that such a meeting would lead to progress on the issue of comfort women. They are Korean women who were kept as sex slaves by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War Two.

South Korea has sought an apology and compensation for surviving Korean victims.

The U.S. Defense Department held a rare “Full Honor Parade” for the South Korean president on her arrival at the Pentagon Thursday. This comes after President Park attended a Chinese military parade last month, causing concerns about South Korea’s growing relationship with China.

The visit to the Pentagon was seen as a strong symbol of the close ties between the U.S. and South Korea.

Words in This Story

strategic –adj. related to a wide plan meant to reach a goal in politics, war, business, etc.

apology –n. a statement saying you are sorry about something; an expression of regret for having done or said something wrong

1 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。

2 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

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。