2006年VOA标准英语-US Denies Making Concessions to Pyongyang for N

By David Gollust
State Department
31 October 2006
 
The United States says it made no concessions¹ to bring North Korea back to six-party negotiations² over its nuclear program. Pyongyang agreed to return to the negotiations Tuesday at a round of secret talks with senior U.S. and Chinese officials in Beijing.

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Officials here are welcoming the agreement to restart the six-party talks, but they're insisting the United States made no concessions to North Korea and will press ahead on U.N. sanctions mandated³ after Pyongyang's October 9 nuclear test.

The Chinese-sponsored negotiations have not convened⁴ for nearly a year despite an agreement in principle by the six parties in September of last year, under which Pyongyang was to scrap⁵ its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.

China had been making intensive backstage efforts to get the talks going again, and Beijing, which is North Korea's biggest trading partner and aid provider, is reported to have recently stepped-up economic pressure on the reclusive communist state.

 
President Bush 
  
Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Bush publicly thanked China for arranging the three-way meeting that produced Tuesday's agreement, while making clear that efforts to enforce the sanctions stemming from the nuclear test will go forward:

He said, "We'll be sending teams to the region to work with our partners to make sure that the current United Nations Security Council resolution is enforced, but also to make sure that the [six-party] talks are effective - that we achieve the results we want, which is a North Korea that abandons their nuclear weapons programs and her nuclear weapons, in a verifiable fashion in return for a better way forward for her people."

The Pyongyang government pulled out of the six-party talks after a brief round last November. It had said it would not return unless the United States dropped financial penalties imposed last year because of alleged⁶ North Korean counterfeiting⁷ and other illicit⁸ activity being conducted through the Macao-based Banco Delta⁹ Asia.

But the U.S. envoy¹⁰ to Tuesday's Beijing meeting, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs Christopher Hill, said his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan told him Pyongyang was now ready to deal with the financial issue within the six-party forum¹¹.

Sean McCormack   
  
At a news briefing here, State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said that discussion could be conducted through a working group or other mechanism¹² in the context of the broader negotiations:

"In terms of Banco Delta Asia and other financial issues, we're willing to address those issues in the context of the six-party talks," he said. "You can have a variety of different mechanisms¹³, you can have a working group, in order to discuss these issues. I think the North Koreans understand that the easy way around these questions is not to engage in illicit behavior."

No date has been given for the resumption of the six-party talks but U.S. officials say they expect it will be before the end of the year and perhaps sometime in November.

The six-party talks, which include South Korea, Japan and Russia along with North Korea, the United States and host China, began in 2003.

The United States had insisted on the multi-lateral framework after a 1994 nuclear freeze arrangement negotiated by the Clinton administration collapsed¹⁴ amid a revelation in 2002 that Pyongyang was secretly enriching uranium.

1 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。

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 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

4 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

5 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

6 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

7 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

8 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

9 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

10 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。

11 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

12 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

13 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。