Seoul Urges Negotiation Over North Korea's Nuclear Program

 

By Michael Drudge¹

South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun says a peaceful approach to solving North Korea's nuclear threat is preferred over the more forceful action advocated by some hard-liners in the United States. Mr. Roh commented on the issue at the end of a state visit to Britain.

In an interview before departing London, Mr. Roh told British radio the Bush administration has been under pressure to give up on six-nation negotiations² on North Korea's nuclear program and adopt a tougher line. Mr. Roh spoke³ through an interpreter.

"The United States government has persistently⁴ made the case for a peaceful resolution to this issue through dialogue," he said. "And it has continued to take part in the six-party talks. However, there are people in the United States who exercise considerable influence, in particular intellectuals in the United States, who are calling for regime change in North Korea, and who are calling on the United States to adopt a more hard-line policy against North Korea."
Critics of the six-party talks say there has been little progress in the three rounds held since last year between North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. North Korea refused to attend a fourth round of talks last September.

In his interview, Mr. Roh played down the prospect⁵ of a military confrontation⁶ with the North, saying the nuclear standoff has been managed well so far, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

During his two-day state visit, Mr. Roh met Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss North Korea, Iraq and international trade issues.

South Korea has 3600 troops in Iraq and Mr. Roh says he expects the national assembly to approve a one-year extension of the deployment⁷ despite what he calls "considerable controversy⁸" over the issue.

Mr. Roh left Britain for Poland Friday on the next leg of a three-nation European tour. He travels to France on Saturday.

Michael Drudge, VOA News, London.
注释：
approach 方法
hard-liners 不妥协者
depart 离开
persistently 持久稳固地
confrontation 面对面
foreseeable 可预知的
considerable 相当大（或多）的
controversy 辩论

1 drudge   

n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳

参考例句：

• I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！
• I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

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。

4 persistently   

ad.坚持地；固执地

参考例句：

• He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
• She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

5 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

6 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

7 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。

8 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。