美国国家公共电台 NPR North Korea Announces Testing Of New 'Tactical Guided Weapon'

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Exactly what is North Korea doing now? The country says it tested a new tactical weapon. Whatever that is, it would be the first test of any note since nuclear negotiations¹ broke down between President Trump² and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un.

NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from South Korea. Anthony, Hi there.

ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE³: Hey there, Steve.

INSKEEP: I just want to note this phrase in the North Korean statement - tactical weapon. Just by dictionary definition, I mean, that can be a .22-caliber rifle, could be a small nuclear weapon, could be a laser, a drone. It could be about anything. So what evidence is there of what may have happened here?

KUHN: Well, they said it had a guidance system, and they said it had a powerful warhead. So that suggests something like a short-range, a missile, a rocket or an artillery⁴ shell. But we haven't seen any pictures of it, so it's really impossible to say.

What analysts⁵ note is that this thing is probably short-range and cannot hit the U.S. At best, it can hit South Korea. From the language in North Korean media, they tried to be saying that this represents a technical breakthrough, some new capability⁶ for them. But what it exactly it is, we do not know.

INSKEEP: And the word nuclear is never used in the North Korean statement. Is that correct?

KUHN: That's right. It's not in there. It's pretty clear it's not a nuclear device.

INSKEEP: Yet the North Koreans must surely know, when they make an announcement of this kind, that it will be seen as a provocation⁷ in a tense situation.

KUHN: That's correct. Some provocations⁸ get a rise out of the U.S. and South Korea; some do not. In November of last year, they tested another thing, which they called an ultramodern new weapon, and it did not get a response. There hasn't really been a response out of Washington or Seoul yet, although South Korea convened⁹ a meeting of its National Security Council. It seems to be mostly a political message to signal impatience¹⁰ with the lack of progress on nuclear negotiations.

INSKEEP: Well, let's talk about that because we should review how we got here. Remember that earlier this year, there was a summit - a second summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un. And we can recall, I guess, a moment of optimism before that summit began. Kim himself spoke¹¹ to foreign journalists for the first time, I believe. And he said this. Let's listen to a bit.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LEADER KIM JONG UN: (Speaking Korean).

INSKEEP: We're hearing him say that he's going to try his best in this summit and there will be good results, hopefully. Instead, of course, the summit fell apart at that time. If this test is any guide, how much worse have negotiations become? How much worse have conditions become?

KUHN: Well, since the summit, what we're hearing from Kim Jong Un is real ambivalence¹² about the negotiating process. He still believes that he can get something, some sort of sanctions relief or a concession¹³, from President Donald Trump. But he clearly sees that the U.S. line is hardened, they're not willing to go at this one step at a time. They want to get it done all at once.

And so Kim Jong Un has essentially¹⁴ said, we'll give it one more try this year - by year's end - but if not, forget it. And his other options are a less U.S.-friendly foreign policy and possibly even a return to testing nuclear weapons or missiles. But we're not there yet. He has not signaled he's pulling out of negotiations.

INSKEEP: Why is Kim Jong Un also saying - send me some other American negotiator; I don't want to talk anymore to Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, who's been a leading figure here?

KUHN: They have identified Secretary of State Pompeo and national security adviser¹⁵ John Bolton as hard-liners who are preventing them from getting a deal. They still believe their best hope is Donald Trump, but they're not holding out a lot of hope. They do not want to engage in working-level deals. They want to cut one right at the top, top-down with Donald Trump. And they think that's their best hope even though they're not super optimistic.

INSKEEP: Anthony, thanks for keeping all of this in perspective - really valuable.

KUHN: Sure thing, Steve.

INSKEEP: NPR's Anthony Kuhn is in South Korea today.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

5 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。

6 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

7 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

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 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

10 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 ambivalence   

n.矛盾心理

参考例句：

• She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她看待女儿的教育问题态度矛盾。
• She felt a certain ambivalence towards him.她对他的态度有些矛盾。

13 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。