核试验之后美国、韩国军队处于高度戒备状态

AS IT IS 2016-01-08 US, S. Korea Forces on High Alert After Nuclear Test 核试验之后美国、韩国军队处于高度戒备状态

The United States and South Korea have ordered their military forces on the Korean peninsula on “high alert” following North Korea’s nuclear test this week.

On Thursday, the U.S. and South Korean defense¹ ministers discussed measures to answer the latest nuclear test. South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said, “Both ministers agreed that North Korea needs to pay price for its provocation².”

U.S. and South Korean officials, however, wonder whether North Korea has the ability to produce a thermonuclear hydrogen bomb. Such a weapon would be much more powerful than the three atomic bombs the North tested in the past.

The U.S. military is attempting to confirm if it was a hydrogen bomb test, as North Korea claims. The U.S. Air Forces reportedly sent an atmospheric³ collection aircraft to gather radioactive particles made by the explosion.

North Korea’s growing nuclear threat

North Korea is believed to have enough plutonium to make eight to 12 nuclear weapons. Many security experts say that is more than enough to answer any supposed threat of invasion from the United States or South Korea.

The North Korean government reportedly restarted a uranium enrichment center last year to produce more for nuclear weapons.

The U.S.-based Institute for Science and International Security estimated that North Korea could have between 20 and 100 nuclear weapons by 2020.

The test this week followed reports of a failed North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile test. If North Korea could develop such a missile, it would have the ability to strike anywhere in the world, including the United States.

North Korea continues to develop missiles with the ability to travel great distances. The country is believed to have 1,000 missiles that can reach targets in South Korea and Japan.

South Korea considers military options

“These aren’t really so much for retaliation⁴ or defense anymore,” said Robert Kelly, a North Korea expert with Pusan National University. “These are kind of like society breaking weapons. If you drop a hydrogen bomb in Seoul or a couple on South Korea’s big cities, you’re not going to just kill a lot of people. You are also threatening the ability of North Korea to continue to function as a state.”

Some lawmakers in Seoul say South Korea should develop its own nuclear weapons to answer the growing nuclear threat from the North. There have also been calls in Seoul to set up a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. China reportedly opposes deployment⁵ of the system to East Asia because of concerns it could be used to stop Chinese missiles.

Robert Kelly said he would like to see South Korea start taking THAAD more seriously. He said, “I would like to see the Americans and South Koreans and Japanese start really working seriously on regional missile defense… But you know if we don’t go down that route and diplomacy⁶ doesn’t seem to be working, my sense is you will see people starting to call for airstrikes.”

Calls for more actions against North Korea

Other observers said the United States should push for a wider economic action to punish North Korea.

Robert Manning is with the Atlantic Council. He said, “take away Kim Jong Un’s credit cards. I think that would cause some real pain at a time when he has promised that his regime is going to improve the economy -- which is a long shot to start with.”

U.S. and United Nations sanctions are already in place against North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong UN, for the country’s earlier violations⁷ of nuclear treaties.

Barry Blechman is a national security expert with the Stimson Center. He said that, “We got the U.N. Security Council to establish tighter and tighter sanctions. We have gotten them pushed out of the international banking⁸ system. But it is still not enough so long as the Chinese continue to allow a kind of fundamental level of survival to continue there.”

He added that efforts to increase pressure on North Korea would have limited results until China fully⁹ honors existing international actions against the North.

Words in This Story

high alert – expression. heightened or increased preparedness

provocation – n. an action that makes someone angry

aircraft – n. an airplane, helicopter or other machine able to fly

retaliation – n. the action of answering an attack

couple – n. two of something

function – n. the special purpose or activity for which something exists

route – n. a path or way of getting from one point to another

credit cards – n. a card used as a method of payment

regime – n. a government; a system or planning way of doing things

sanctions – n. a threatened punishment for disobeying a rule or law

allow – v. to permit or let

fundamental – adj. of central importance

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 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

3 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

4 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

6 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。