2007年VOA标准英语-North Korea Says US Envoy Visit 'Productive'

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
23 June 2007

The North Korean government has issued a positive assessment¹ of a senior U.S. envoy's visit to the capital, Pyongyang. United Nations nuclear inspectors² are expected to arrive in North Korea on Tuesday to plan for the imminent³ shutdown of the North's main nuclear reactor⁴, a crucial first step toward the goal of Pyongyang' full nuclear disarmament. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

vice5 director of North Korean Foreign Ministry6's U.S. Affairs Department, 21 Jun 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070629/1407540.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Christopher Hill, left, shakes hands with Ri Gun, vice director of North Korean Foreign Ministry's U.S. Affairs Department, 21 Jun 2007

North Korea gave an upbeat report card to this week's unannounced visit to Pyongyang by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.

A North Korean statement called talks between Hill and the North's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Kwan "comprehensive and productive." The two are their country's chief delegates to multinational⁷ talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons programs. Those talks also involve China, South Korea, Russia and Japan.

Hill briefed Japanese officials in Tokyo Saturday and said the North is likely to shut down its main nuclear facility in Yongbyon within three weeks. That the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, will send a delegation⁸ to the North on Tuesday is further good news, said Hill.

Christopher Hill, left,  speaks to his Japanese counterpart Kenichiro Sasae during a press briefing in Tokyo, 23 Jun 2007

"In order to have the six party meeting, we have to make sure that we move very quickly on the February undertakings⁹. So we're pleased the IAEA are heading in on Tuesday, and we hope really to pick up the pace," he said.

The shutdown is the first phase in a broader agreement reached at the six-nation talks in February in Beijing.

Pyongyang refused to meet a mid-April deadline for the shutdown, citing a dispute over $25 million of its funds frozen at a Macau bank by a U.S. investigation¹⁰.

Most of those funds have since been transferred to a bank in Russia. Russian media quote officials, as saying the final transfer to a North Korean account will take place on Monday. North Korean official media quote a Pyongyang foreign ministry spokesman saying the Yongbyon shutdown will proceed once the transfer is complete.

The second phase of the February agreement calls for North Korea to make a full declaration of all of its nuclear capabilities¹¹, as a first step toward disabling them. Hill says he made clear during his Pyongyang visit the declaration must address U.S. concerns over a uranium-based program the North has never publicly admitted.

"We of course did discuss the need to have a comprehensive list of all nuclear programs, and I would just say that all means all," he said.

Hill is expected to return to Asia for more six party talks next month, once the Yongbyon shutdown is complete, and once China, the host, confirms a date for the meetings.

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

4 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 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。

7 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。

8 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

9 undertakings   

企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务

参考例句：

• The principle of diligence and frugality applies to all undertakings. 勤俭节约的原则适用于一切事业。
• Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. 此举要求军事上战役中所需要的准确布置和预见。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓