VOA标准英语--朝鲜使用VX神经毒气杀人意味着什么?

 

WASHINGTON —

Kim Jong Nam was killed February 13 when two women smeared¹ a liquid on his face at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong have been charged with murder, a crime that carries with it the death penalty. The two women say they thought they were participating in a televised prank².

How does this attack in Kuala Lumpur compare with other North Korean moves to consolidate³ power?

“The use of deadly force or the use of violence to purge⁴ any challengers or potential challengers, that's not new,” said Daniel Pinkston, Lecturer on International Relations at Troy University in Seoul, South Korea. “But the new element in this is, of course, the VX [nerve agent], if the reports are true, and I have no reason to disbelieve the report. So that is a brand new development.”

Stratfor Vice⁵ President of Strategic Analysis Rodger Baker⁶ adds, “Certainly the way in which they carried out this assassination⁷ using VX [nerve agent] is different than what we've seen in the recent past.”

Baker recalled an incident in which North Korea tried to eliminate the South Korean Cabinet in Myanmar. "So they've done extreme things, but this is certainly something very different than what we've seen,” he said.

Seriousness of VX use

So how serious of an issue is it for the international community that a state like North Korea would use a substance like VX nerve agent in a public space?

Baker says that when examining the assassination method, the attack suggests the VX nerve agent was put together during the assassination.

"So it just wasn't the general release of VX in the space. So in that sense, we could say that this was very targeted in the application and didn't have a major ripple⁸ effect to the airport or to other people in the airport ... or apparently⁹ even significantly to the two individuals who engaged in the assassination,” said Baker.

He goes on to say the attack itself is a clear signal North Korea not only is willing to use substances like VX, but do so far from home.

Pinkston reiterates¹⁰ that VX is an extremely deadly substance.

“Only a single drop of it, if it were to get on your skin, will kill you,” said Pinkston. “Anyone who would introduce that substance into a public area, in the international airport, I think it's extremely brazen¹¹ and completely unacceptable, and crosses a red line that's beyond the acceptable international norms.”

North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and test ballistic missiles, despite several international sanctions put in place and condemnation¹² by the U.N. Security Council.

Options?

So, how might the international community respond in this instance?

“I think that North Korea must pay a very high price for this, and to not to impose serious costs upon North Korea, I believe, would invite further and more brazen transgressions¹³, and I think it would be the wrong signal to send to North Korea that they could engage in this type of behavior with impunity,” said Pinkston.

Pinkston says that a “menu of options” be made available to the international community, including banning all of their aircraft from international airports, placing greater sanctions on individuals and entities¹⁴, placing North Korea once more on the list of state-terrorism sponsors, and a proportional use of force directed at chemical weapons facilities.

And in Washington, United States lawmakers have called for North Korea to be listed once more as a sponsor of state terrorism.

Baker adds that a question often asked about North Korea is, “What more can be done?” He says that boils down to basically three action items: negotiate with North Korea, further isolate¹⁵ Pyongyang, or carry out some sort of military action.

“There's a growing change of view, for example in China, and the debate in China is growing stronger over whether the risk of a destabilized North Korea is still a greater risk than an uncontrolled North Korea pursuing these weapons and carrying out these actions. That would be the most significant change, if it occurs. And China is the one country, I think, that could really alter the balance,” said Baker.

Furthermore, he says that as the United States completes its review of North Korean policy, one can't rule out that military options won't be included in the review.

1 smeared   

弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上

参考例句：

• The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
• A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。

2 prank   

n.开玩笑，恶作剧；v.装饰；打扮；炫耀自己

参考例句：

• It was thought that the fire alarm had been set off as a prank.人们认为火警报警器响是个恶作剧。
• The dean was ranking the boys for pulling the prank.系主任正在惩罚那些恶作剧的男学生。

3 consolidate   

v.使加固，使加强；(把...)联为一体，合并

参考例句：

• The two banks will consolidate in July next year. 这两家银行明年7月将合并。
• The government hoped to consolidate ten states to form three new ones.政府希望把十个州合并成三个新的州。

4 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

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 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

7 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

8 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

11 brazen   

adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的

参考例句：

• The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her.那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
• Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat.有的人不愿承认失败，而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。

12 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

13 transgressions   

n.违反，违法，罪过( transgression的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Many marine transgressions occur across coastal plains. 许多海运是横越滨海平原。 来自辞典例句
• For I know my transgressions, and my sin always before me. 因为我知道我的过犯，我的罪常在我面前。 来自互联网

14 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

15 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。