VOA常速英语2007-Experts Offer Modest Praise for Korean Summit Ou

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
05 October 2007

Reaction is mixed, but generally positive in South Korea, about the cooperation pact¹ signed at the summit with North Korea. But as VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, regional experts question whether the ideas on paper can be implemented² on the ground.

South Korean news media were positive overall toward the summit declaration by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Seoul's Joongang Daily newspaper said the declaration "contains unprecedented³ contents," and represents "a first step to removing the fundamental basis of insecurity on the Korean peninsula." The Hankyoreh daily newspaper says the declaration is "more comprehensive and specific than originally expected."

North and South Korea are technically⁴ at war. Three years of fighting were halted by a 1953 armistice⁵ after the North invaded the South. The cooperation pact, signed Thursday in Pyongyang, calls for efforts to replace the armistice with a permanent peace arrangement.

The document for the first time commits Kim Jong Il personally to diplomatic efforts to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs. The pact pledges the North's cooperation in implementing⁶ agreements to dismantle⁷ all nuclear facilities.

Dan Pinkston is the northeast Asia analyst⁸ in Seoul for the research organization International Crisis Group. He says implementing the agreement will be a challenge - but he praises the two countries for creating conditions for dialogue.

"Process matters in Asia," he said. "So... there's more weight on that than in the actual results in the legalistic or contractual sense. There's the view that if you maintain a good relationship you will obtain those results naturally."

The agreement commits South Korea to a long list of economic projects, mainly related to rebuilding the impoverished⁹ North's broken-down infrastructure¹⁰. It also calls for the establishment of joint¹¹ industrial, fishing, and agriculture zones, all funded by South Korea.

Kim Taewoo, senior researcher at Seoul's Korea Institute of Defense¹² Analyses, says the deal is imbalanced.

Kim praises the deal as a very rare occasion for Korean reconciliation¹³. However, he says while South Korea has made a long list of concrete promises, it is unclear what specific actions North Korea has committed to take.

The pact does not mention Pyongyang's dismal¹⁴ human rights situation, or the issue of hundreds of South Korean prisoners of war and abductees believed to be held by North Korea. President Roh does not bring up such issues to avoid angering North Korea, which says it holds no one against their will and commits no rights abuses.

Groups representing North Korean defectors and the families of abductees say they are not surprised, but disappointed just the same.

There is an additional challenge in implementing Thursday's deal: Roh Moo-hyun's presidency¹⁵ expires in two months and he is constitutionally barred from running for re-election.

Polls indicate he is likely to be replaced by a member of South Korea's conservative opposition¹⁶ party - which generally believes North-South agreements need to require more from Pyongyang. Many opposition politicians think that Mr. Roh's policy of engaging North Korea has cost South Korea a lot of money, yet did not prevent Pyongyang from building nuclear weapons.

1 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

2 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

5 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

6 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

7 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

11 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。

12 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。

13 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

14 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

15 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。