美国国家公共电台 NPR U.S. And South Korea Reach Deal On Military Costs

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

So the Trump¹ administration is pressing U.S. allies to pay more for the stationing of U.S. troops in their countries. The U.S. has been locked in a dispute over this issue with South Korea. But as NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, an upcoming summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea forced the two allies to shelve their differences for now.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE²: Under the deal announced today, South Korea will contribute about $890 million a year for the U.S. military presence, an 8.2 percent increase over the last deal. That's less than $1 billion or more the U.S. had asked for. The money covers logistics and construction costs as well as salaries for the roughly 8,700 South Korean employees of the United States Forces Korea, or USFK. Last year, the U.S. threatened to furlough those employees if a deal wasn't reached. Son Gi-o, an official with the trade union representing the workers, says they'd have to stay on the job pay or no pay.

SON GI-O: (Speaking Korean).

KUHN: "If we stop working simply because wages are not paid," he says, "the work of the USFK would be paralyzed. And that could pose a critical threat to national security."

The Trump administration wants to get similar deals with other allies, particularly Japan and Germany. Chung Kuyoun, a political scientist at Kangwon National University in Seoul, says that, despite what President Trump says, South Korea does not have money to burn.

CHUNG KUYOUN: Given that the economy is pretty bad and income inequality is increasing, average wages is going down, paying more money for the military forces will become a political cost for the current administration.

KUHN: The U.S. insists that it's not considering withdrawing any of its 28,500 troops in South Korea. But some South Koreans fear President Trump could use U.S. troop strength as a bargaining chip in nuclear negotiations³ with Kim Jong Un. Among them is Won Yoo-chul, an opposition⁴ party lawmaker representing the city of Pyeongtaek. That's the site of Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base outside the continental⁵ United States.

WON YOO-CHUL: (Through interpreter) I regret that President Trump made the unilateral decision to suspend U.S.-South Korean joint⁶ military exercises during the first U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore. I'm concerned that he may make a similar decision regarding the USFK in the second summit with North Korea.

KUHN: Other South Koreans believe that the dispute over defense⁷ costs will push Seoul to beef up military capabilities⁸ that are independent of the U.S. Song Young-gil is a lawmaker with the ruling Democratic Party. He argues that the U.S. should be asking Seoul for less money because its bases are not just to defend South Korea but to maintain U.S. global interests.

SONG YOUNG-GIL: (Through interpreter) Camp Humphreys not only serves as a defense base against North Korea, it also serves to contain China and Russia and to train U.S. forces deployed⁹ to the Middle East.

KUHN: South Korean lawmakers still have to ratify¹⁰ today's deal before it takes effect. Seoul had sought a five-year agreement but only got one. So both sides will be back at the negotiating table in a matter of months.

Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 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。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 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。

8 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

10 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。