VOA标准英语10月-South Korean Military Chief Says North Seeks Nucl

South Korean military officials say they believe North Korea is hoping to develop a nuclear weapon that can be delivered by missile. The unusually frank public statement was made amid reports North Korea has conducted a routine test of its short range missiles along its western coast. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.
　

South Korean Joint1 Chiefs of Staff chairman General Kim Tae-Young

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Kim Tae-young, says he believes North Korea is trying to produce a nuclear warhead small enough to be carried on a missile.

Kim made the comment Wednesday in a parliamentary hearing. Such a direct statement is rare, because senior South Korean officials usually keep quiet about North Korean security matters in public. Kim added, he believes North Korea has enough plutonium to produce as many as seven nuclear weapons.

Despite being impoverished², North Korea has invested heavily for decades in ballistic missile technology. It has hundreds of short and medium range missiles capable of reaching all of South Korea and most of Japan. North Korea test-fired a medium range missile directly over Japanese territory in 1998. In 2006 - just months before it tested a nuclear explosive underground - the North conducted a failed test of a long range missile hypothetically capable of reaching the United States.

South Korean media quoted Seoul defense³ officials Wednesday as saying the North has conducted a test firing of at least two short range missiles. The missiles were apparently⁴ fired Tuesday afternoon off North Korea's western coast.

South Korean Unification Ministry⁵ Spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun did not confirm the launch Wednesday, but said the test was probably not cause for alarm.

He says if it was in fact short range missiles North Korea launched, it is probably part of a routine drill. He says North Korea is known to conduct two sets of routine missile tests each year.

Even small military movements by North Korea attract attention here in the South - perhaps especially at this point in time. It remains⁶ unconfirmed whether leader Kim Jong Il, believed to be recovering from a stroke, is actually in control of the country. Pyongyang threatened earlier this month to resume reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel into material useable in weapons. And, this week marks several key anniversaries in the North - including that of the country's communist-party founding, and of its nuclear test two years ago.

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 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。