VOA常速英语2007-Kim Jong Il Signs Pledge to Seek Progress in End

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
04 October 2007

The two Koreas have signed a cooperation pact¹ that for the first time puts North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's personal signature on a pledge to end to his nuclear weapons programs. As VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, the pact also increases North-South cooperation on several major fronts.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun have put their signatures on an agreement calling for an eventual² permanent peace arrangement. The joint³ statement was issued Thursday, the third and final day of their summit in Pyongyang.

Despite increasing cooperation, the two Koreas are theoretically at war. A 1953 armistice⁴ halted military action three years after the North invaded the South, but it was never replaced with a formal peace treaty.

South Korean Presidential Secretary Baek Jong-chun says the two leaders also signed on to a more far-reaching goal. Reading directly from the pact, Baek says the two put their signatures to a process that could lead to North Korea abandoning all of its nuclear programs.

Baek says South and North have agreed to cooperate in the implementation⁵ of two agreements reached in multinational⁶ nuclear talks, in order to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula.

South Korean officials confirm this is the first time Kim Jong Il has personally signed a document relating to the effort to bring his nuclear programs to an end.

The two leaders celebrated⁷ the signing at a lunch Thursday, and were toasted by senior officials from both delegations⁸.

Senior North Korean official Kim Young Il says the occasion proves that when North and South put their hearts together, nothing is impossible.

South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae Joung raised his glass and said the two Koreas must continue to meet at both the highest levels, and on the level of average citizens. He says the two Koreas will naturally become one as they continue to meet, and that reunification, backed by trust and understanding, are the key to the Korean people's survival.

The cooperation pact includes plans for regular freight train traffic across the North-South border. It also calls for creation of a new joint tourism project at North's Korea's Mount Baekdu, near the Chinese border.

North and South Korea have fought several naval⁹ clashes over a United Nations-drawn maritime¹⁰ border in the waters west of the Korean peninsula. Thursday's document declared plans for a joint fishing zone in the area, in an effort to reduce tensions there.

However, Kim Tae Woo, a senior analyst¹¹ at Seoul's Korea Institute for Defense¹² Analyses, is not optimistic about the zone's prospects¹³. He says North Korea has never recognized the maritime border, and as a result, it will be difficult to agree on the terms for the new fishing zone.

The two leaders agreed Thursday that North and South should hold more summits and other high-level meetings. President Roh, who will leave office next year, is due back home Thursday evening after walking across the military demarcation line in Panmunjeom, the border-straddling village where the 1953 inter-Korean armistice was signed.

1 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

2 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

3 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。

4 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

5 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

6 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

7 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

8 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

9 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

10 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 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。

13 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。