VOA常速英语2008年-South Korea Weighs Options Amid Heightening Ten

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
31 March 2008

South Korea is opting¹ for a low public policy profile amid escalating² tensions with North Korea. Seoul officials kept quiet, a day after Pyongyang threatened to turn the South into "ashes." VOA's Kurt Achin reports from the South Korean capital.

South Korean officials kept relatively³ silent Monday, just 24 hours after North Korea's official media warned of a "powerful preemptive attack" against the South.

The North Korean commentary warned Sunday if it attacks, "everything will turn into ashes, not just a sea of flames." The language echoes North Korean threats in past years to turn South Korea into a "sea of fire."

The threats are a response to testimony⁴ last week by South Korean Joint⁵ Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Tae-young.

Kim tells a panel of legislators the South has contingency⁶ plans to preemptively strike suspected North Korean nuclear weapons sites, if it becomes apparent the North intends to make use of those weapons against the South. South Korean military leaders have since tried to downplay those remarks.

The flare-up over preemptive strikes is part of a broader political landscape of heightening tensions between North and South Korea, which never formally ended their 1950-53 war.

South Korean officials refused to confirm Monday a report in South's largest daily newspaper that North Korean jet fighters have flown close to the heavily armed North-South border at least ten times since conservative President Lee Myung-bak was inaugurated last month.

Mr. Lee has taken a much stiffer policy line with North Korea than his two predecessors⁷, who transferred billions of dollars in aid and investment to Pyongyang with little or nothing requested in return.

This month, Mr. Lee's top official on North Korea policy warned a joint North-South industrial zone would not be expanded unless there is progress in diplomacy⁸ to get rid Pyongyang's nuclear weapons capabilities⁹. In response, North Korea expelled most of the South Korean officials in charge of managing the zone, located in the North Korean city of Kaesong.

South Korean media did quoted senior military officials as saying the South may soon issue some type of general expression of regret for the recent worsening of North-South relations. However, they say it will not be an apology, and that the South will not deviate¹⁰ from its "practical" principles on dealing¹¹ with the North.

Dong Seung-young, a North Korea expert at the private Samsung Economic Research Institute, says the world may just have to get used to chilly¹² North-South relations for a while.

He says even if the stalled relations last a long time, President Lee's government places top priority on "fixing" South Korean policy toward the North.

Mr. Lee's political allies say ten years of lenient¹³ treatment toward Pyongyang made it easier for the North to test a nuclear weapon in 2006. Now, with North Korea four months late in providing a promised nuclear declaration, they say a firmer approach is needed.

President Lee may get a firmer mandate¹⁴ in his North Korea policies from legislative¹⁵ elections next month, in which which his conservative party is expected to make gains. Some experts say the North's recent moves may be aimed at influencing that vote.

Others, like Professor Yang Moo-jin of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, say Pyongyang is trying to influence South Korea's relationship with the United States.

He says North Korea is trying to send a signal that strengthening the U.S. - South Korea alliance is not the best way to solve the nuclear issue. He says Pyongyang wants to convince U.S. and South Korean leaders not to seek ways of pressuring the North when they meet at an upcoming summit.

President Lee is scheduled to meet with President Bush in Washington next month. The chief U.S. delegate to the nuclear talks, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, is scheduled to arrive Tuesday in Seoul to meet with officials here.

1 opting   

v.选择，挑选( opt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网

2 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

5 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。

6 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

7 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 deviate   

v.(from)背离，偏离

参考例句：

• Don't deviate from major issues.不要偏离主要问题。
• I will never deviate from what I believe to be right.我绝不背离我自信正确的道路。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

13 lenient   

adj.宽大的，仁慈的

参考例句：

• The judge was lenient with him.法官对他很宽大。
• It's a question of finding the means between too lenient treatment and too severe punishment.问题是要找出处理过宽和处罚过严的折中办法。

14 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

15 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。