2006年VOA标准英语-South Korea Says No Food Aid for North Until it

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
13 July 2006

S. Korean protesters shout slogans as they hold N. Korea's flags and pictures leader Kim Jong Il next to North's mock missile during an anti- N. Korea rally, July 12, 2006  
  
South Korea has taken its firmest stand to date on the issue of North Korea's weapons systems. Following the collapse² of inter-Korean talks, a senior South Korean official says food aid to the impoverished³ North will stop until Pyongyang returns to talks on its nuclear weapons programs. The move comes as North Korea digs in its diplomatic heels over the missiles it test-fired last week.

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South Korea made clear Thursday that no more food aid would be heading north unless Pyongyang returned to six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programs.

A senior South Korean official relayed Seoul's position to reporters after the collapse of inter-Korean talks in the South Korean city of Busan.

The South Koreans have used this week's inter-Korean talks to express concern over the North's test-firing of at least seven missiles on July 5, in defiance⁴ of warnings from Seoul and the international community.

As the talks ended a day early Thursday, the South Korean Unification Ministry⁵ spokesman, Lee Kwan-se, told reporters that Seoul had warned the North against making the same mistake again.

He says Seoul warned the North Korean delegates if there were any more missile launches, the situation on the Korean peninsula would be severely⁶ worsened.

Lee says the North Koreans dismissed the criticism, and instead requested half a million tons of rice from the South to ease its chronic⁷ food shortages - a request Seoul now says it flatly turned down. The South has given billions of dollars worth of food, fertilizer and other aid to the North over the past six years.

As the North Koreans prepared to return home, they issued a statement blaming South Korea for the talks' failure. The statement accused the South of coming to the talks with "impure⁸ motives," and warned Seoul it would "pay a price" for causing what the Northerners called a "collapse" of the North-South relationship.

Ryoo Kihl-jae is a Dean at Seoul's Kyungnam University Graduate School for North Korean Studies. He says North Korea's behavior in Busan left South Korea no choice but to take a firmer position.

He says South Korea made a good-faith effort to resolve the issue of last week's missile firings, and was rebuffed by the North Korean delegates. He says that cannot help but produce a negative effect for the South's cooperative efforts with Pyongyang.

The collapse of the Busan talks coincides with a so-far unsuccessful mission by Chinese envoys⁹ to get North Korea back to the six-nation bargaining table. Pyongyang promised South Korea, China, Russia, the United States, and Japan last September it would begin the process of ending its nuclear weapons programs, in return for aid and security guarantees. But it has since boycotted¹⁰ follow-up talks.

It remains¹¹ unclear what Beijing might do if Pyongyang refuses to make any accommodation. The Chinese have hesitated to use economic leverage¹² against their historical ally for fear the North Korean regime might collapse, possibly triggering massive instability in Northeast Asia. 

1 anti-   

pref.[前缀]表示反抗，排斥

参考例句：

• The car has many safety features,including anti - skid braking.这车配有许多特别安全装置，包括防滑制动器。
• The anti-aircraft units opened fire and hit two of the enemy planes.防空部队开炮，击中了两架敌机。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

5 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。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

8 impure   

adj.不纯净的，不洁的；不道德的，下流的

参考例句：

• The air of a big city is often impure.大城市的空气往往是污浊的。
• Impure drinking water is a cause of disease.不洁的饮用水是引发疾病的一个原因。

9 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

10 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。