VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Backs Six-Party Talks for Ending North

At her Senate confirmation¹ hearing on Tuesday, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton expressed support for the Chinese-led six-party negotiations² aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear program. But she told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the negotiating process championed by the Bush administration is being reviewed.
　
Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, is greeted by Senate Foreign Relations Committee members Sen. Christopher Dodd, Sen. John Kerry, prior to start of hearing, 13 Jan 2009

President-elect Barack Obama said during the campaign that he was willing to try face-to-face diplomacy³ with leaders of adversary⁴ countries, like North Korea, if it would help resolve key problems.

But in her Senate testimony⁵, his Secretary of State-designate said both she and the incoming President believe the six-party process, underway since 2004, has merit both as a negotiating vehicle and as a channel for bilateral⁶ dialogue with Pyongyang.

Hillary Clinton told the confirmation hearing that she and outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have had several long conversations on the six-party process as part what she said is an "aggressive review" of North Korea policy by the Obama team.

She said the president-elect is under no illusions about the difficulty of getting Pyongyang to end its nuclear program and that "tough, reality-based diplomacy" is required. "Our goal is to end the North Korean nuclear programs - both the plutonium-reprocessing program and the highly-enriched uranium program - which there is reason to believe exists although never quite verified. And it is our strong belief that the six-party talks, particularly the role that China is currently playing along with our close allies South Korea and Japan, is a vehicle for us to exert pressure on North Korea in a way that is more likely to alter their behavior," she said.

Clinton, under questioning from Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, said the process must also end North Korea's role as a nuclear proliferator⁷, saying there is "reason to believe" Pyongyang was involved in a reactor⁸ project with Syria in addition to its documented assistance to Libya's nuclear program that was scrapped⁹ in 2003.

The six-party talks, in which North Korea committed to end its nuclear program in return for aid and diplomatic benefits, is stalled over Pyongyang's failure to accept a verification plan for the nuclear declaration it made last June.

North Korea said on Tuesday it would hold on to its small arsenal¹⁰ of nuclear weapons until the United States normalized relations with it and drops what was termed a "hostile" policy toward the communist state.

That drew a rebuff from State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack who said Pyongyang will have to meet its six-party commitments before realizing diplomatic benefits. "Certainly we want the six-party process to move forward. It's very clear what its obligations and responsibilities are under that process. Getting to the point where North Korea has a more normal relationship with the rest of the world, including the United States - in order to really get to that point - North Korea is going to have to move through the six-party process, and there is going to have to be a de-nuclearized Korean Peninsula," he said.

South Korean newspapers reported on Tuesday that Pyongyang wanted to send its chief nuclear envoy¹¹ to President-elect Obama's inauguration¹² next week. But officials here say they are unaware¹³ of any contact with North Korea on the issue and that, in any case, foreign representation at the event is limited to ambassadors of countries with which the United States has diplomatic ties.

1 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

2 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。

3 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。

4 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

5 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

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 proliferator   

[医]增殖子

参考例句：

• Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are a family of at least 3 nuclear receptors (a, 8, andy). 其中PPARγ在心脏中表达丰富，胰岛素增敏剂噻唑烷二酮类药物是PPARγ的合成配体。
• Rosiglitazone belongs to a class of drugs known as peroxisome proliferator-actiated receptor (PPAR) agonists. 罗格列酮属于称为过氧化物酶体活化受体(PPAR)促效剂一类药物。

8 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。

9 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

10 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

11 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。

12 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

13 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。