VOA标准英语2008年-N. Korea Stonewalls Probe of S. Korean Tourist

South Korean officials are revealing what details they have so far of last week's fatal shooting of a South Korean tourist by the North Korean military. The full picture of what actually happened remains¹ incomplete, however - because the North refuses to cooperate in an investigation². As VOA Seoul correspondent Kurt Achin reports, key North Korean officials are not even picking up the phone.
　
South Korean Park Wang-ja (File)

South Korean investigators⁴ say it is clear to them 53-year old Park Wang-ja was shot in the back during her visit to North Korea last week.

Seo Jung-seok is a forensic⁵ specialist with South Korea's National Institute of Scientific Investigation.

He says an autopsy⁶ showed two bullets passed through Park's body. Both of the entry wounds are in her backside - the exit wounds are in the front.

Park was on a visit to the North's Kumgang Mountain resort last Friday. The area was built and is managed by South Korea's Hyundai corporation as a showcase of inter-Korean reconciliation⁷.

Park apparently⁸ left her hotel room for an early morning stroll, and was later shot near a seaside area. North Korea has told Hyundai Asan she wandered into a restricted zone and attempted to flee when confronted by military personnel.

Investigator³ Seo says Park died of excessive blood loss from the wounds. He says based on the pattern of damage to organs, he estimates the shots were taken at fairly long range.

South Korea is relying mainly on witness testimony⁹ from fellow tourists to reconstruct the killing¹⁰, because it is receiving no cooperation whatsoever¹¹ from North Korea.

Pyongyang has refused South Korea's demands to allow investigators to visit the site of the killing. It has also failed to share footage taken by North Korean closed circuit cameras that may have been pointed¹² at Friday's occurrences. South Korea's Unification Ministry¹³ says they have tried to contact North Korea using a specially¹⁴ established phone line, but nobody is picking up.

The North has blamed South Korea for the shooting and demanded a formal apology. Far from apologizing, South Korea has called the North Korean shooting "wrong" and "unimaginable."

The impasse¹⁵ over the shooting is a reflection of the broader North-South relationship, which has chilled considerably¹⁶ since the February inauguration¹⁷ of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Pyongyang has refused any dialogue with Mr. Lee, who it describes as a "traitor¹⁸" for his conservative policy stance toward the North.

For now, the Kumgang tour project is frozen, costing North Korea badly needed hard currency with each passing day. The question that remains is how much more pressure South Korea will be willing to apply until it gets the answers it feels it deserves from the North.

　

 

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 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。

3 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

4 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》

5 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

6 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

7 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。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 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。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 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。

14 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

15 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

16 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

17 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

18 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。