美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump's Personal Approach To Policy On Display Ahead Of N. Korea Summit

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

President Trump¹ is expected to greet three Americans when they land in the United States after being detained in North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo secured their release during a visit to North Korea to help arrange the upcoming summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe is here in the studio. Hi there, Ayesha.

AYESHA RASCOE, BYLINE²: Hi, Audie.

CORNISH: So tell us what happened today, what President Trump is saying now about the release of these Americans.

RASCOE: He's saying this is a sign of how well things are going ahead of this meeting with Kim. He's saying the Americans seem to be in good health. And he's even thanking North Korea for taking this step. Here's what he had to say this morning.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Nobody thought this was going to happen. And I appreciate Kim Jong Un doing this and allowing them to go.

RASCOE: So he's obviously pleased with this development. Some experts I talked to, though, warn that the White House should make sure that it doesn't look like they are rewarding North Korea for releasing these Americans because then that could provide incentives³ for North Korea to continue to detain Americans in the future.

CORNISH: Now, what else do we know about what could come up at this summit?

RASCOE: Well, we - President Trump would not say when it would happen, but he said a time and a location has been chosen. He did rule out the DMZ. He had floated that as a possibility. What stands out to me, though, is that he's being really optimistic about this meeting.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: And I think it will be very successful. But as I always say, who knows? Who knows what's going to happen? But it's going to be a very important event.

CORNISH: A very important event - what are the risks in raising expectations about the president's ability to negotiate with North Korea?

RASCOE: There definitely is some risk. President Trump likes to be front and center for all of these decisions, and he likes to make clear that he's in charge. He doesn't rely on spokespeople or diplomats⁴ to get his message out. But with a complicated and challenging issue like North Korea, if things go wrong, then he's out front getting blamed.

Another thing is that President Trump really likes to focus on his personal relationships with foreign leaders as a way to get his agenda done. But personal relationships really can only get you so far when it comes to foreign policy. It doesn't matter how much you get along. Leaders will look out for their own country's interests.

CORNISH: Obviously the stakes are high, but is there more of a risk putting so much focus on just this one meeting?

RASCOE: Experts I've talked to say yes because ultimately what comes after the meeting will be most important. Obviously all eyes will be on this summit. But the difficult part of these talks will be the behind-the-scenes, where the U.S. and North Korea will need to agree on what it means to denuclearize North Korea or - and denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and how to implement⁵ that.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Ayesha Rascoe. She covers the White House. Thanks so much.

RASCOE: Thank you.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 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。

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。