AS IT IS 2016-04-13 North Koreans Defect to South Korea

AS IT IS 2016-04-13 North Koreans Defect to South Korea

South Korea says a high-ranking North Korean military officer defected to South Korea last year.

South Korea’s defense¹ and unification ministries² made the announcement Monday in Seoul. The unification ministry³ deals with issues between the rival Koreas. That includes bringing families together from both sides.

The unidentified officer is a colonel in North Korea’s military. He worked in North Korea's General Reconnaissance Bureau and is said to be the highest-ranked officer to defect from the North. 

The bureau conducts spying activities against South Korea, including cyber attacks. The agency also is blamed for the 2010 torpedo⁴ attack against a South Korean naval⁵ ship.

Forty-six sailors were killed in that attack. North Korea denies it carried out the attack.            

The announcement Monday comes days after South Korean officials said that 13 North Koreans recently arrived in the South. They say the North Koreans were working at a state-owned restaurant in a foreign country and defected as a group. That would make it the largest group defection since 2011.                                                                   

In a separate incident, a North Korean diplomat⁶ stationed in an African country defected with his family to the South last year.

More than 29,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the end of hostilities⁷ in the Korean War.  The numbers have declined since Kim Jong Un took over as leader in 2011.

Words in This Story

defect – v. to leave a country, political party or organization and go to another one

reconnaissance – n. a military activity in which soldiers find out information enemy forces

cyber attack – n. an attack on computer systems meant to steal information or to damage or deny access to computer systems

torpedo – n. a kind of explosive device that can be fired and travel underwater to strike ships

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

3 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。

4 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

7 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。