U.S. says inter-Korean talks "welcome"

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department（美国国务院） spokesman Mark Toner said on Thursday that the potential inter-Korean military（军事的） talks are a "welcome" and "positive" sign.
    Mark told reporters that the Democratic of People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is now "cycling away" from "belligerent¹" actions in the past.
    He urged DPRK to continue to take "meaningful steps" to improve inter-Korean relations.
    On the same day, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also said the potential talks are an "important" step forward.
    The South Korean government has decided² to accept a proposal Thursday from DPRK to hold high-ranking inter-Korean military talks, Seoul's Yonhap News Agency reported.
    The move came after the DPRK's Armed Forces Minister Kim Yong- chun proposed discussing "pending³ issues" in a message sent to South Korean Defense⁴ Minister Kim Kwan-jin.
    The talks, if held, will mark the first major contact between the two sides for years. Pyongyang has recently repeated call for inter-Korean dialogue.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 belligerent   

adj.好战的，挑起战争的；n.交战国，交战者

参考例句：

• He had a belligerent aspect.他有种好斗的神色。
• Our government has forbidden exporting the petroleum to the belligerent countries.我们政府已经禁止向交战国输出石油。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

4 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。