2007年VOA标准英语-No Agreement Reached on Disabling N. Korea's Nu

By Heda Bayron
Hong Kong
28 September 2007

In Beijing, negotiators are trying to cobble together an action plan detailing steps North Korea should take to disable its nuclear facilities. As VOA's Heda Bayron reports from our Asia News Center in Hong Kong, the six-nation nuclear talks are in their second day in the Chinese capital.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters Friday there are still differences to be resolved on how North Korea's nuclear capabilities¹ might be disabled.

"Frankly², we'd like more and they'd like less. And we'll see what we end up with," he said. "But we don't have an agreement on what constitutes disabling yet."

Hill, with his counterparts from North Korea and South Korea, China, Japan and Russia, resumed discussions Friday, hoping to draw up a step-by-step action plan for the denuclearization process.

The talks are aimed at persuading North Korea to disable its nuclear facilities in a verifiable, complete and irreversible manner.

Hill earlier said the North has already accepted certain proposals, but no details have been released.

The five other nations want North Korea to stick to its promise to disable its nuclear facilities and declare all its nuclear activities by the end of this year. The other side of that agreement, reached last February, is that North Korea will receive economic aid, fuel and security incentives³. Many details are yet to be resolved before the deal can become final, however.

In 1994, North Korea signed a similar agreement to shut down its nuclear facilities, but later restarted them. Hill, emphasizing that any shutdown this time must be complete and irreversible, has said the U.S. will not take a "trust me" from Pyongyang any longer.

The four-year-long diplomatic effort, which has stalled at times, gained urgency after North Korea conducted its first nuclear explosion in October last year. The negotiators say this week's round, due to end Sunday, is a critical step in the process.

1 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

2 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

5 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。