VOA标准英语2009-North Korea Demands Huge Pay, Rent Increases

North Korea has presented South Korea with sharply elevated rent and wage demands for running a joint¹ industrial facility just inside the North Korean border. At the same time, Pyongyang is refusing to release a detained executive it has held with no outside contact for more than two months.
　
Tourists walk past a showroom sign at Kaesong Complex in Paju near the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas, 10 on Jun 2009

North Korea said a South Korean executive who has been detained for more than two months is "doing well," but is still refusing the South any contact with him.

That word came after about two hours of working level talks Thursday between the two sides concerning the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint industrial zone in North Korea.

North Korea also made steep demands for more money to continue operating the zone, including a fourfold increase in workers' wages. South Korean Unification Ministry² official Kim Young-tak headed Seoul's delegation³.
　
S. Korean chief delegate Kim Young- tak speak to press after returning from Kaesong, N. Korea, 11 Jun 2009

He said the North made the wage demands considering the workers' productivity, and by looking at wage levels in other countries.

The Kaesong complex was conceived as a practical laboratory in reconciliation⁴ between the two Koreas, which remain technically⁵ at war. South Korean companies employ nearly 40,000 North Korean workers to make simple manufactured items, from sneakers to cookware.

North Korea's actions over the past year, however, have raised serious questions about the zone's viability⁶. Pyongyang has on several occasions restricted access across the North-South border by suppliers of raw materials, and last month announced the nullification of wage and rent contracts there.

The North has also detained a South Korean who has helped manage the zone since March. The executive, known by his surname Yu, is accused of making inflammatory comments about the North Korean leadership and possibly encouraging a North Korean female worker to defect.

Kim said the South told the North the detainee is the "essential" issue facing the Kaesong complex,and expressed how much his family was worried about him. He says the North assured him Yu is in good condition.

The security concerns surrounding Yu's case led one South Korean clothing company to pull out of Kaesong this week. Analysts⁷ said safety fears and rising costs are creating the risk of a domino effect, in which companies pull out of the complex en masse.

The two Koreas agreed to talk again next Friday, June 19.

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 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。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

6 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

7 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。