VOA标准英语2008年-Shuttle Envoys Hop Capitals Prior to Renewed N.

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
18 June 2008

International talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs are expected to resume soon, possibly within a matter of weeks. As VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, key players in the talks are engaging in some preparatory shuttle diplomacy¹.
　

South Korean nuclear envoy2 Kim Sook during press conference at Foreign Correspondent Club in Seoul, South Korea, 18 Jun 2008

South Korea's chief envoy to the North Korean nuclear talks, Kim Sook, left Wednesday for Tokyo, where he is to consult with his American and Japanese counterparts.

Before leaving, Kim told reporters the six-nation talks are just about ready to resume.

"Simply put - I would hope soon," he said.

North Korea reached an agreement with South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and the United States to fully³ declare its nuclear weapons and stockpiles, as the first major step toward dismantling⁴ them. However, Pyongyang is more than six months late in producing the document, which it said it would prepare by the end of 2007.

Kim says the North's declaration is close to being ready and that all six nations feel it is important to reconvene the talks. He urges Japan, in particular, to take a more active role in rewarding North Korea for its gradual steps toward ending its nuclear capabilities⁵.

He says now is the time that Japan should start participating in economic and energy assistance. He says this is very important.

Japan has refused offer such assistance until North Korea offers more cooperation on the issue of Japanese citizens abducted⁶ by North Korean agents in the 1970's and 80's. The two countries achieved some rare progress on the issue, last week, when North Korea promised to open an investigation⁷ into the alleged⁸ abductees. Japan responded by lifting some of the travel sanctions it imposed on the North after its 2006 nuclear weapon test.

Following this week's meeting in Tokyo, the chief U.S. delegate to the nuclear talks, Christopher Hill, heads to Beijing to talk to senior officials there. China's vice⁹ president is visiting the North Korean capital, this week, in another sign the nuclear talks may be about to resume.

1 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。

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

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。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

5 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

6 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。