VOA标准英语2008年-Expectations Modest as Japan, North Korea Resum

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
07 June 2008

Senior Japanese and North Korean envoys² are seeking to end almost a year of diplomatic silence with each other as they meet this weekend in the Chinese capital. The discussions are partly aimed at facilitating upcoming negotiations³ on getting rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, where South Korean officials are also preparing for the multinational⁴ nuclear talks.
　

Chinese paramilitary embassy guard opens gate for arrival of N. Korean envoy1 Song Il-Ho at Japanese Embassy in Beijing, 07 Jun 2008

Senior Japanese officials expressed only modest expectations Saturday, as North Korean and Japanese envoys arrived in Beijing for their unofficial meeting. The two sides hope to resume more formal one-on-one meetings connected to six-nation talks aimed at getting rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons.

Japan, the two Koreas, Russia, China, and the United States agreed last year on a multi-phase process which would gradually reward Pyongyang for nuclear disarmament actions. If successful, the process would eventually lead to diplomatic normalization⁵ between North Korea and both Japan, and the United States.

Prior to leaving for Saturday's talks, Japan's senior delegate to the nuclear process, Akitaka Saiki, said he hopes the North Koreans come to the table with a sincere attitude.

He says he hopes the bilateral⁶ exchange goes well, because it will lay the groundwork for more talks in the future.

No breakthroughs are expected with regard to the main difficulty in relations between North Korea and Japan: the issue of abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents in the late 70s and 80s.

North Korea has admitted to kidnapping 13 Japanese citizens. Pyongyang returned five and said the other eight are dead. Japanese officials believe there were more abductions, and that North Korea has failed to cooperate sufficiently⁷ in accounting⁸ for the individuals in question.

North Korea has frequently accused Japan of distracting from the nuclear negotiations with the abduction issue, and has called for Tokyo's removal from the process.

Experts say successful diplomacy⁹ between Pyongyang and Tokyo could lead to significant benefits for the impoverished¹⁰ North down the road. Japan colonized¹¹ the Korean peninsula during the first half of the 20th century, and Tokyo would be likely to provide billions of dollars worth of aid to North Korea as an indirect form of reparations - if ties between them can be normalized.

Japanese and North Korean envoys are likely to meet again before the end of the month at the six-party nuclear table. A senior U.S. official arrives here in Seoul Monday before traveling to Pyongyang, to help prepare the session.

1 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。

2 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 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。

5 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。

6 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

7 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

8 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

9 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。

10 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。