VOA新闻杂志2023--一名美国士兵越境进入朝鲜

The Strange Korean Border Village Where US soldier crossed Into North

There is very little space separating the two Koreas at Panmunjom, the most heavily armed border in the world. People have stepped across the narrow dividing line, but only at very special times. The two nations are still technically¹ at war.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump² and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did it in 2019. A year earlier, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in walked with Kim across the border. In 2017, a defecting North Korean soldier went across nearby, under heavy gunfire. He was racing³ across the border for safety.

And this week, an American soldier facing possible military discipline went over the line. It caused an international incident that could worsen already uneasy relations on the Korean Peninsula.

Much of the 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is forest, guarded by mines, barbed wire fences and tank traps. Combat troops stand on both sides. The DMZ is jointly⁵ overseen⁶ by the American-led U.N. Command and by North Korea.

But Panmunjom is different. It was once a small farming village inside the DMZ. Now, it hosts a "Joint⁴ Security Area." And it has become one of the world's strangest tourist sites.

The Korean Peninsula was split into a Soviet⁷-controlled North and U.S.-supported South at the end of World War II. It was in Panmunjom that U.S. and North Korean forces signed the 1953 truce⁸ that ended fighting in the Korean War. The truce also led to the creation of the DMZ.

There has never been an official peace treaty.

In Panmunjom, there are stores, fast-food restaurants and lots of tourists. But North Korea has been closed to tourism because of the pandemic since early 2020. The South Korean side has an amusement park not far from the village. It used to have a Popeyes fried chicken restaurant.

Tours to the southern side drew around 100,000 visitors a year before the pandemic.

The tourist area is a short drive from Seoul. The South Korean capital lies in an easy striking range of 70 percent of North Korea's 1.2 million troop positioned along the border.

Months and years often pass without incident. But when something happens, it can be violent.

In 1976, North Korean soldiers killed two American army officers with axes. The U.S. reacted by flying nuclear bombers⁹ toward the DMZ in an attempt to frighten the North.

In 1984, North Korean and U.N. Command soldiers fired shots when a Soviet citizen defected by running to the southern side. Three North Korean soldiers and one South Korean soldier were killed.

North Koreans who flee to the South have mostly used the less guarded border between the North and China. An estimated 30,000 North Koreans have escaped since the end of the Korean War.

The American detained on Tuesday was 23-year-old Private 2nd Class Travis King. He is the first known American detained in the North in nearly five years. He was captured after running across the border at Panmunjom.

King had served nearly two months in a South Korean prison on assault charges. He was supposed to be sent Monday to Fort Bliss¹⁰, Texas. There, he was to face more military disciplinary measures and a possible release from service. But officials said that instead of getting on the plane, he left the airport and joined a tour of Panmunjom.

Words in This Story

defect — v. a problem or fault that makes someone or something not perfect

discipline — n. control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed and punishing bad behavior

barbed — adj. having a sharp point that sticks out and backward from a larger point

tourist — n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure

amusement park — n. a place that has many games and rides for entertainment

tour — n. a journey through the different parts of a country, region, etc.

assault — n. the crime of trying or threatening to hurt someone physically

1 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

6 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

9 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。