朝鲜核项目花费大量洪水受害者援助金

AS IT IS 2016-10-12 North Korean Nuclear Program Costs Flood Victims Aid 朝鲜核项目花费大量洪水受害者援助金

Nearly 600,000 people need urgent assistance because of recent severe flooding in North Korea as the winter season approaches.

Large amounts of water from a typhoon hit villages near the Tumen River in September. The river runs along the borders with China and Russia.

Non-governmental organizations report that at least 138 people have died. Reports also say 400 people are missing and that the flooding has forced 70,000 people to leave their homes.

Some call this one of the worst humanitarian¹ disasters to affect North Korea since the 1990s. At that time, lack of rain and poor harvests led to reports of starvation across the country.

The recent floods have destroyed 20,000 homes and many schools and hospitals. Floodwaters also damaged 30,000 hectares of crops that were almost ready for harvest.

Paolo Fattori is the North Korea program director for Save the Children, an international children’s rights organization. Fattori says the flood victims need clean water, food and new shelters. These are all needed in the next few weeks, before the temperatures in the region drop below freezing.

“In all the areas there is a strong need for support, actually because this event occurred at the end of the summer season, which means that the time to respond is very, very short,” Fattori said.

The United Nations Children’s Fund and other organizations together are asking for $28.2 million in aid. They say money is needed both right away for urgent needs and for long-term assistance. This includes rebuilding homes, schools, hospitals and repairing damaged water supply and sanitation² systems.

Currently the fund to help North Korea has collected only about $6.5 million. Humanitarian organizations say that is far less than what is needed.

However, raising money for North Korean humanitarian aid is difficult because of the country’s nuclear weapons program.

The North Korean government has carried out five nuclear tests since 2006. Two of the tests took place this year. North Korea has also carried out land-based and submarine launched missile tests this year. As a result, the United Nations Security Council, South Korea and the U.S have placed sanctions on North Korea.

United States ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power visited South Korea. She has discussed the need to increase international economic sanctions and military defense³ against North Korea.

On Sunday, Power said those with emergency aid to offer the country cannot be sure their money and assistance will go to the people in need.

Humanitarian organizations say the aid for North Korea is used to directly help victims and affected⁴ areas. They say money is not given to or controlled by the government.

“Most of the funds are going to international procurement⁵ [of] specific materials that are needed,” Fattori said. “No funds are directly managed by the local government, in the case of Save The Children for sure.”

The South Korean government still is not providing any flood aid to the North.

South Korean officials warn that any aid would at some time be used to support the government of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. They say he is spending billions of dollars on nuclear and missile tests while most of his people live in poverty.

Jeong Joon-hee is the spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry⁶. He recently said, “While North Korea is putting forth⁷ a huge amount of money and effort for provocations⁸, it is [clear] our well-meaning purpose could be distorted if we provide support for the flood damage.”The North Korean government says it

has brought 200,000 people together to help with the recovery effort. The government also has promised to build 20,000 homes and other buildings before winter arrives.

Fattori says the country’s disaster recovery efforts have improved. But, he adds, the government is still not prepared to deal with a humanitarian disaster of this size without international support.

Words in This Story

typhoon –n. a powerful ocean storm in the area of the northwest Pacific Ocean

humanitarian –adj. having to do with efforts to make people’s lives better

starvation –n. suffering or death caused by not having enough to eat

region –n. an area of a country or the world

sanitation –n. systems used to carry away waste and keep places clean

fund –n. an amount of money that is used for a special purpose

unification –n. the bringing together of people or things provocations –n. an action or occurrence that causes someone to become angry or to begin to do something

distorted –adj. to change something so that it is no longer true or accurate

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

3 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。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

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》