North Korea has test fired a suspected long-range missile

North Korea has test fired a suspected long-range missile

　　Transcript¹

　　Experts say the North is applying pressure on Washington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations². The White House condemned³ North Korea for its latest test of a long-range ballistic missile.

　　RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

　　The White House says it strongly condemns⁴ North Korea for its latest test of a long-range ballistic missile. The ICBM test, also confirmed by Japan and South Korea, is North Korea's first since 2017. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from Seoul to talk about the implications of all this. Good morning, Anthony.

　　ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE⁵: Hi, Rachel.

　　MARTIN: First off, what other details do we know about how this happened and what kind of missile it was?

　　KUHN: South Korea's military says this missile was fired from an airfield⁶ on the outskirts⁷ of Pyongyang. It landed in the sea, closer to Japan than in recent tests, and that triggered condemnation⁸ from Tokyo. South Korea says the missile traveled eastward⁹ for 670 miles, but it reached a maximum altitude of 3,850 miles, and that is believed to be farther and higher than the last ICBM, which they tested in 2017. So there is concern here that this could be North Korea's biggest, newest and most powerful ICBM to date. North Korea itself hasn't said what it fired, and we could hear about that from their state media on Friday. Now, some sort of ICBM test was expected, and the U.S. and South Korea have been watching for it.

　　MARTIN: South Korea's leader is saying that this crossed a red line. Those are his words. Explain what that means here.

　　KUHN: Well, in fact, North Korea is believed to have already conducted two ICBM tests this year, which they said were satellite tests, but U.S. and South Korea say were actually cover. And the reason they fired them at these steep angles and claimed they were satellites is because they didn't want to trigger a strong response, perhaps, such as more international sanctions or slamming the door shut on negotiations. This time, they may or may not have wanted to cross that line and break this moratorium¹⁰ which has been in place since 2017. But whatever the case, they did get a different response this time. South Korea says they've crossed a red line, and South Korea has fired several kinds of missiles, including surface-to-surface missiles in response, which they haven't done previously¹¹, and they've triggered very strong condemnations from foreign capitals, including Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

　　MARTIN: I mean, you said earlier that North Korea has been developing this bigger, stronger ICBM that would put the whole of the U.S. in its range, but can you speak more broadly about North Korea's larger missile development program?

　　KUHN: Yeah, well, they're basically one year into a five-year plan to upgrade their nuclear arsenal¹², and that includes developing ICBMs that are capable of reaching the U.S. with multiple warheads. Expert opinion is sort of divided on how far they are from that goal, but what is clear is that nuclear negotiations with the U.S. have been stalled since 2019, and it could be years before North Korea completes work on its weapons and lays its cards on the table and says, here is what we got, and, you know, what can we get for this in the way of security guarantees and sanctions relief?

　　MARTIN: Of course, all of this is happening - this particular test - during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The world is focused there. Is the timing¹³ just a coincidence? Is there anything intentional¹⁴ about it?

　　KUHN: Experts say North Korea shows a pattern of trying to kill two birds with one stone - that is, testing weapons both to master a technology and to send a political message at the same time. The messages here could include that North Korea will not be ignored regardless of what else is going on in the world, or that North Korea will not go out like Ukraine, Libya or other countries that were denuclearized and then either attacked or overthrown¹⁵.

　　MARTIN: NPR's Anthony Kuhn, reporting from Seoul. Thank you.

　　KUHN: Thank you, Rachel.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 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。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 airfield   

n.飞机场

参考例句：

• The foreign guests were motored from the airfield to the hotel.用车把外宾从机场送到旅馆。
• The airfield was seized by enemy troops.机场被敌军占领。

7 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

8 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

9 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

10 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

11 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

12 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

13 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

14 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

15 overthrown   

adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词

参考例句：

• The president was overthrown in a military coup. 总统在军事政变中被赶下台。
• He has overthrown the basic standards of morality. 他已摒弃了基本的道德标准。