VOA常速英语2008年-North Korea Denies Uranium Program, Warns of 'G

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
28 March 2008

North Korea is warning it may slow or even halt its cooperation in dismantling¹ key nuclear facilities, amid a dispute with Washington over an alleged² uranium enrichment program. Pyongyang has also conducted a short range missile test, widely seen by experts as a show of displeasure with hardening policy approaches by South Korea and the United States. VOA Seoul correspondent Kurt Achin reports.

North Korea issued one of its most explicit³ and vehement⁴ denials Friday of U.S. allegations it pursued a secret uranium enrichment program and may have lent nuclear assistance to Syria.

Official North Korean media quoted a foreign ministry⁵ spokesman as saying Pyongyang has never "even dreamed of" engaging in uranium enrichment activities or nuclear cooperation with other countries.

South Korean officials say a dispute over those allegations is the reason why North Korea is nearly four months late in providing a nuclear declaration it promised by the end of 2007. The North Korean spokesman warned Friday the dispute could have a "grave impact" on Pyongyang's cooperation in disabling key nuclear facilities.

Separately, North Korea test fired several short range missiles into waters off its western coast. Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, says Seoul is responding calmly.

He says President Lee views the launches as a routine military exercise.

North Korea does conduct occasional missile tests, even when tensions on the peninsula are relatively⁶ low. However, there is widespread agreement among analysts⁷ here in Seoul that the timing⁸ of the test suggests it represents are a show of displeasure by the North.

Just a day earlier, Pyongyang expelled South Korean managers from a joint⁹ industrial park in the North Korean city of Kaesong. The move was a response to a South Korean warning that continued stalling by the North in multinational¹⁰ nuclear talks could threaten the pace of the zone's expansion.

More broadly, President Lee - a conservative who was inaugurated last month - has made it clear he intends to depart from previous administrations' policies of no-strings-attached aid and concessions¹¹ to the North. He says future ties with the North are preconditioned on cooperation on the nuclear issue, human rights, and South Korean citizens believed to have been abducted¹² by the North's agents.

Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea scholar at Donguk University in Seoul, says the North's actions fit a pattern.

He says up until this week, North Korea has harshly criticized South Korean conservatives in its internal media. Now, however, those criticisms are evolving into concrete actions.

South Korean officials say they will not alter what they describe as Seoul's "practical" new approach toward relations with the North. They are expected to consult with Washington's main envoy¹³ on the nuclear issue, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, when he visits Seoul next week.

1 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

4 vehement   

adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的

参考例句：

• She made a vehement attack on the government's policies.她强烈谴责政府的政策。
• His proposal met with vehement opposition.他的倡导遭到了激烈的反对。

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 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 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。

10 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。

11 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

12 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

13 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。