2016年CRI US and Japan Sanction North Korea Over Nuclear Program

 

The US Senate voted 96-0 for the "North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act." 

The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in January.

Differences between the two are expected to be resolved quickly, and Senate Democrats¹ say they expect President Barack Obama will sign the measure into law. 

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar says the bill approved on Wednesday sends a strong message to North Korea.

"We must take strong action to curb² North Korea's nuclear program and address the other threats that it poses to the U.S. and our allies. Weak sanctions against North Korea have clearly proven unsuccessful. The legislation before us today represents the tough response that is necessary to send this message directly. To North Korean leaders, disarm³ or face severe economic sanctions."

US lawmakers hope the bill will also make a clear statement to the international community. 

The Senate bill would sanction anyone who engages in, facilitates, or contributes to North Korea's armament, luxury goods, human rights abuses, and cyber attacks.

Penalties include the seizure⁴ of assets, visa bans, and denial of government contracts.

Unlike other similar bills, this legislation makes most of the sanctions mandatory⁵, rather than giving the President options to impose them.

The President, however, can waive⁶ the sanctions if national security is threatened. 

The White House has not given any indication that the bill will be vetoed.

Also on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced sanctions on Pyongyang.

"The government has decided⁷ to impose stern sanctions on North Korea. We will cooperate closely with the international community in order to resolve the abductions, nuclear and missile issues."

Apart from the nuclear issue, North Korea's alleged⁸ abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 80s have been another major issue straining bilateral⁹ relations.

Under Japan's sanctions, foreign nuclear scientists living in Japan who have traveled to North Korea will not be re-admitted to Japan.

The sanctions will also restrict money transfers to North Korea and ban ships traveling to Japan from North Korea.

Japan will also freeze the assets of more groups and individuals that are connected to North Korea.

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

3 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

4 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

5 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

6 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 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。