韩国指控朝鲜埋设致命地雷

AS IT IS 2015-08-11 South Korea Blames North Korea for Deadly Landmines² 韩国指控朝鲜埋设致命地雷

South Korean officials are accusing the North Korean military of illegally entering the country and planting deadly landmines. The landmines seriously injured two soldiers on August 4. The U.S.-led United Nations Command that monitors the ceasefire between the North and South supports South Korea’s finding. 

Three landmines exploded last Tuesday on the South Korean side of the border between North and South Korea. Eight South Korean soldiers were monitoring the area. One soldier lost both legs in the explosions. Another soldier lost one leg.

South Korean officials say the North Korean military is responsible for the attack. They are urging the North to apologize for the attack and promise they will answer it.

Major General Ku Hong-mo is with the South Korean Joint³ Chiefs of Staff. He spoke⁴ strongly against what he called the North’s “cowardly and despicable” act. Major General Ku said the move violated agreements between South Korea and North Korea.

Investigators⁵ support South Korea’s claim. They say the kinds of cases and explosives used in the blast suggest the North Korean military made the landmines. They also note that the border area has many landmines, but South Korean troops often monitor the site of the explosions. As a result, they say, these landmines were probably recently planted.

Yang Wook is a North Korea expert with the Korea Defense⁶ and Security Forum⁷ in Seoul. He says the North Korean military likely just wanted to show their strength. Mr. Yang says he does not believe South Korea will answer the attack in any serious way. 

Mr. Yang says, “So from North Korea’s point of view, they have nothing to lose even if they fail."

He expects South Korea to answer the landmine¹ attacks by increasing military exercises or sending more anti-government information to the North.

Mr. Yang says, “We can pressure North Korea by conducting massive scale military drills or punish them by resuming psychological combat, which North Korea fears the most.”

However, North Korea will likely angrily deny responsibility for the attacks and tensions in the area will rise.

Earlier this year, North Korean officials objected to the U.N. establishing an office in Seoul to investigate human rights violations⁸ in the North. North Korea also objects to joint military drills between South Korean and American soldiers that will begin soon.

And, the two countries have not been able to agree on a shared ceremony this week to honor the 70th anniversary of freedom from Japanese rule.

Words in This Story

monitor –v. to watch, observe, listen or check; can also be a noun

cowardly – adj. afraid in a way that makes you unable to do what is right or expected; lacking courage

despicable – adj. very bad or unpleasant

psychological combat – adj. things that are done to make an enemy or opponent become less confident or to feel hopeless and afraid

1 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

2 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

3 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。

4 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。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

8 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。