VOA慢速英语--报道称朝鲜正在重建火箭发射区建筑

North Korea Reportedly Rebuilding Structures at Rocket Launch Area

North Korea reportedly has rebuilt structures at a rocket launch site that it had begun to take down last year.

That information comes from foreign observers and a South Korean lawmaker who spoke¹ with the South’s spy service.

North Korea had promised to destroy the Tongchang-ri launch site after the June 2018 meetings between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump².

Two Washington-based groups that follow North Korea say some structures at the launch site have been rebuilt in the past three weeks. The two are the Center for Strategic and International Studies and 38 North, a website specializing in North Korea studies. They say satellite images show the structures were rebuilt over the past month.

Also, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on Tuesday about the rebuilding.

Recently, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano reported that North Korea’s Yongbyon uranium enrichment site is still active. He added that North Korea is continuing work on an experimental light-water reactor³ at Yongbyon.

On Tuesday, a top U.S. official said the United States would look at increasing sanctions against North Korea if Kim did not end his country’s nuclear weapons program.

"If they're not willing to do it…we'll look at (increasing) those sanctions up, in fact," said National Security Advisor⁴ John Bolton.

North Korea’s nuclear sites

Last month, the U.S. president and North Korean leader traveled to Hanoi, Vietnam, for more talks. Those meetings collapsed⁵ when Trump left the negotiations⁶. He said Kim demanded all sanctions on North Korea end at once in exchange for closing down the Yongbyon nuclear facility. The North Korean government denied making that request.

David Albright is the president of the Institute for Science and International Security and a former nuclear weapons inspector⁷. He said Trump ended the negotiations because the United States knows North Korea can make nuclear weapons at other sites in its country.

“They have enough enrichment facilities outside Yongbyon to make (weapons),” he said.

Jeffrey Lewis is the director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California. “The U.S. government believes there are at least two additional enrichment (facilities),” he said.

Olli Heinonen is a former deputy director of the International Atomic Energy Agency. He said that North Korea’s enrichment centers are easy to hide because of the kind of technology they use.

Experts agree that North Korea must declare all its nuclear sites and let inspectors⁸ into the country to confirm the destruction of the sites.

North Korea launches

Six months ago, South Korean President Moon Jae-in traveled to Pyongyang to meet with the North Korean leader. At those talks, Kim offered to “permanently shut down” the Tongchang-ri engine test ground and launch area, with foreign observers present.

In a statement, the two men described the move as part of a larger effort to make the Korean peninsula free from nuclear weapons. This could suggest that North Korea was confirming the Tongchang-ri site is a nuclear-related center. After several failures, North Korea successfully launched a satellite from the site in 2012. It had another successful launch in 2016.

North Korea says its satellite program is peaceful. Experts say, however, that nuclear missiles and satellite rockets use similar technology.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has ordered his government to do everything in its power to get the North Korean and U.S. leaders talking again.

“I expect that the two leaders will meet again in the near future,” Moon said, adding that he thinks the two will come to an agreement at their next meeting.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

site – n. the place where something is, was, or will be

facility – n. something (such as a building or large piece of equipment) that is built for a purpose or reason

sanctions – n. an order that is given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, or by barring economic aid for that country

enrich – v. to improve the quality of something

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 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。

3 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

8 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》