VOA标准英语2009年-S. Korea Counters North's Nuclear Test by

South Korea is upgrading its participation¹ in a U.S., led international campaign to disrupt the traffic of weapons of mass destruction, a step it long avoided to prevent angering Pyongyang. The move comes after a nuclear test by the North, and several apparent short range missile launches.
　
A tourist walks past a diagram of North Korean missiles at the exhibition hall of an observation post in Paju near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas, 26 May 2009

South Korea said Tuesday it will now participate fully² in the U.S. - led Proliferation Security Initiative, or PSI. More than 90 nations take part in the program, which involves intelligence sharing and naval³ coordination⁴ to prevent nuclear and other illegal weapons from being transported. Until now, South Korea has only taken part as an observer.

North Korea warned last month that it would view South Korea's full participation as a declaration of war. For weeks, South Korean officials delayed expected announcements it would join, but experts say they had no other choice after Monday's underground nuclear weapons test by the North.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yoo Myung-hwan told lawmakers Tuesday joining PSI was the correct move for a "mature nation."

Yu said participating in PSI will help control North Korea's development of dangerous nuclear materials.

Monday's nuclear test was North Korea's second, and according to seismic⁵ readings, may have been more powerful than the first. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak says he will work closely with the United States and other nations to seek a strong response.

He says he believes it is necessary to let North Korea know having nuclear programs will prove to be a bigger disadvantage than not having them.

Separately, North Korea fired three short range missiles off its east coast Monday. On Tuesday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the North fired more short-range missiles off the same coast.

Dan Pinkston, a senior analyst⁶ with the International Crisis Group, warned against reading too much into the missile launches as a political message. He says the launches are more likely aimed at enforcing a two-day ban on ships off its East coast North Korea issued on Monday.

"They're just doing their military preparedness and doing their operational exercises and it's for those air defense⁷ purposes, and anti-ship purposes. That's what the system is for," Pinkston said.

North Korea experts suggest two main motivations for recent provocations⁸. They say the North is seeking to raise the urgency of diplomacy⁹ with the North on the agenda of President Obama, so that Pyongyang can win concessions¹⁰ from Washington in one-on-one talks. Other analysts¹¹ say North Korea has set aside diplomacy for now, and is sprinting¹² toward full-fledged international recognition as a nuclear power, like India and Pakistan.

At any rate, little optimism remains¹³ for the future of six-nation talks aimed at getting rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons. Brian Myers, a professor at Dongseo University who specializes in North Korean media, says the six-party framework is dead.

"They stress over and over again in domestic propaganda, 'we are not going back to the six party talks.' Now I realize that North Korea has said in the past has said in the past, it ain't coming back, and then it comes back anyway," Myers said. "But this is the first time I've seen it emphasized in the domestic media to that extent."

Myers says North Korea's attitude was probably shaped by the Obama administration's signals that it was willing to engage North Korea on a bilateral¹⁴ basis.

1 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

2 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。

3 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

4 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

5 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

6 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

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 provocations   

n.挑衅( provocation的名词复数 )；激怒；刺激；愤怒的原因

参考例句：

• We cannot ignore such provocations. 对于这种挑衅，我们不能置之不理。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They must immediately cease all their provocations. 他们必须停止一切挑衅。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 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。

10 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

11 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

12 sprinting   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stride length and frequency are the most important elements of sprinting. 步长和步频是短跑最重要的因素。 来自互联网
• Xiaoming won the gold medal for sprinting in the school sports meeting. 小明在学校运动会上夺得了短跑金牌。 来自互联网

13 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。

14 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。