VOA慢速英语--朝鲜导弹试射触及“红线”了么

Have North Korea’s Weapons Tests Reached a 'Red Line?'

The United States and South Korean air forces are holding one of their largest ever joint¹ exercises.

The five days of exercises are named Vigilant² ACE³. South Korean troops are training with more than 230 airplanes and 12,000 members of the U.S. armed forces.

The planes include a number of U.S. stealth warplanes. The high-technology aircraft are designed to avoid discovery by radar⁴.

The exercises began less than one week after North Korea tested its most advanced long-distance missile. The North Korean government said it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, last Tuesday. The Hwasong-15 rocket traveled farther than any of the country’s earlier rockets.

New missile approaches “red line?”

The new rocket was said to be able to reach anywhere in the United States.

However, experts are wondering whether the missile is ready to carry a nuclear weapon. Some say the North needs months or years before it can develop a missile equipped to carry a warhead to a target without burning up.

South Korea has yet to confirm that the Hwasong-15 missile successfully reentered the atmosphere.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry⁶ spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told reporters Monday that, “We are making efforts to resolve the North’s nuclear issue peacefully with the international community.” But he added, “The government does not accept the North’s ‘unilateral’ claim to completing its nuclear program.”

In July, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that North Korea’s possession of a fully⁵ operational ICBM would represent a “red line” for possible military action.

U.S. officials have warned that they will not let North Korea threaten the South with a nuclear missile.

The North Korean government denounced the military exercises this week. The country has long said that such activities are preparations for an attack. North Korea’s state-operated Korean Central News Agency warned that the United States was driving the Korean peninsula to the “brink⁷ of war.”

This weekend, U.S. officials voiced concerns about the intensity⁸ of tensions.

H.R. McMaster serves as National Security Advisor⁹ to President Donald Trump¹⁰. McMaster said on Saturday that the chance of war with North Korea is “increasing with every day.”

Also, Senator Linsey Graham of South Carolina called on the U.S. Defense¹¹ Department to remove the families of armed forces members from South Korea. Graham is a member of Trump’s Republican Party.

The president has threatened to act against North Korea if it attacks the United States or its allies.

In November, the U.S. government again placed North Korea on its state sponsors of terrorism list. That move permits adding to already highly restrictive trade sanctions against the North.

Ralph Cossa is president of Pacific Forum¹² CSIS, a private, foreign policy research center. He said that military action, with its deadly results for South Korea, is only one idea for answering the North’s tests.

“Red line responses don’t have to be military but they should be significant and painful politically and economically, if not militarily,” said Cossa. He added, “They are also most effective if spelled out in advance and then acted upon.”

However, the Defense Department has said the North’s tests are not yet a threat to the United States' mainland. The government has set up missile defense systems in South Korea and Guam, as well as the states of Alaska and California, in an effort to protect the U.S. and its allies.

After launch, future of talks unclear

North Korea’s neighbors, China and Russia, have supported a plan called “dual suspension.” Under the proposal, the United States and South Korea would halt military exercises in exchange for North Korea stopping its weapons programs.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the two months in which North Korea did not test a missile had not been effectively used for diplomacy¹³. He said that the parties involved in tensions on the Korean peninsula had not “grasped the window of opportunity.”

Ralph Cossa of the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum CSIS said that additional restrictions¹⁴ are likely.

“The U.S. seems to be warning that it will seek ship inspections¹⁵ and more intrusive¹⁶ maritime¹⁷ measures, but it is unclear Beijing and Moscow will go along,” he said.

Other observers say another possibility is that North Korea’s declaration of having “completed” its nuclear program may signal a change. They say the North Korean leadership may want to improve the country’s economy instead of continued weapons testing.

The United Nations has said that one of its officials will visit North Korea for the first time since 2011.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman is expected to visit the North’s capital, Pyongyang this week.

Feltman is expected to meet with North Korea’s Foreign Minister and Vice-foreign Minister.

A UN spokesman talks will include “wide-ranging policy discussions.”

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

vigilance – n. the state of being watchful¹⁸

advanced – adj. modern, highly developed

unilateral – adj. involving only one side or group

brink – n. the edge

sponsors – n. those who support a person, group or activity

sanctions – n. actions, usually to limit trade, that are meant to cause a country to obey international rules

grasp – v. to take hold of

maritime – adj. of or related to the sea

1 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。

2 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

3 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

4 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 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。

7 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

8 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

9 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

14 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

15 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

17 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

18 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。