2007年VOA标准英语-Koreas Prepare for Train Link Amid Hopeful Sign

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
16 May 2007

On the eve of a historic advance in contacts between North and South Korea, there are indications that a major obstacle to ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs may be resolved. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

For more than a year, North Korea has refused to take action to end its nuclear weapons programs because it could not transfer $25 million of its money out of a Macau bank.

On Wednesday here in Seoul, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said the issue is not likely to hold up the process of ending the North's nuclear programs for much longer.

He says South Korean authorities regret that the issue has held up the nuclear diplomacy¹ for so long - but that the related countries are progressing toward a solution. The only remaining question, he says, is how quickly that will come.

The Macau accounts were frozen almost two years ago after U.S. investigators² said the money was linked to illegal North Korean activities.

After it received assurances the money would be released, North Korea promised in February to shut down its main nuclear facility within 30 days, in exchange for fuel oil assistance. Pyongyang is two months overdue³ on fulfilling that promise, saying it will not comply until its money is transferred out of Macau.

The transfer has been delayed as officials try to find an international bank willing to handle the transaction.

Minister Song's comments on the issue came the day before the first train crossing over the heavily armed border between the two Koreas in more than 50 years.

North Korean workers repair railroad tracks near the Kumgangsan Youth railway station at the Diamond Mountain resort in North Korea, 14 May 2007

Two trains are scheduled to cross the Demilitarized Zone Thursday in a highly symbolic⁴ test of rail links. Each train is expected to carry 100 South Koreans and 50 North Koreans. The rail lines were severed⁵ after North Korea's 1950 invasion of the South. The two countries remain technically⁶ at war following a 1953 armistice⁷.

The train links, and a host of other inter-Korean projects such as reunions of families divided by the border, are a legacy⁸ of the only inter-Korean summit, in June 2000. On Wednesday, a group of Korean-Americans crossed into the North for the first family reunions involving Koreans living in the United States.

Some 90,000 Koreans have been separated from relatives since the war.

1 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。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

4 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

5 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 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。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。