VOA标准英语2008年-South Korea Appeals to 'Friendly Countries' Abo

South Korea says North Korea's killing¹ of a tourist from the South is unlikely to affect talks aimed at ending the North's nuclear weapons. However, the South is seeking some degree of diplomatic leverage² in getting the North to be forthcoming about an investigation³ of the fatal shooting. VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

South Korea's chief negotiator in six-nation talks aimed at getting rid of North Korea's nuclear programs says the tourist killing at the North's Mount Kumgang resort will not knock the discussions off track.

Ambassador Kim Sook spoke⁴ to South Korea's PBC Radio, Thursday.

Kim describes the probe into the Mount Kumgang incident as a bilateral⁵ North-South issue. He calls it "rather dangerous" to confuse that issue with South Korean energy aid to the North provided in the context of the six-nation nuclear talks. He calls it "undesirable⁶" to complicate⁷ matters by linking the two issues in any way.
　
South Koreans pay tribute to late 53-year-old housewife Park Wang-Ja (in picture) at a hospital in Seoul, 13 Jul 2008

North Korea says it shot 53-year-old Park Wang-ja Friday, after she wandered into a restricted military area, then tried to flee military personnel. The Mount Kumgang resort where she was vacationing was built in the North by a South Korean corporation, but is kept completely separate from surrounding areas.

The North has flatly refused South Korean requests to investigate the incident. So far, it has failed to provide the South any access to the site of the shooting or to share closed-circuit video footage from cameras running when the killing took place. North Korean officials have even refused to speak to counterparts in the South about the incident.

Now, South Korean Foreign Ministry⁸ Spokesman Moon Tae-young says Seoul is going international with its demands the North cooperate.

Moon says South Korea is discussing its demands for an investigation with what he calls "friendly countries," which he prefers not to name.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Myung-hwan is attending a major regional forum⁹ in Singapore, next week. Envoys¹⁰ from 20 nations, including delegates from Southeast Asian countries, the United States and the European Union, are also expected to participate.

Senior South Korean officials downplay media speculation¹¹ that they are seeking international pressure on the North to cooperate. However, the fact that the Kumgang mountain killing is even expected to surface in next week's international context shows the issue has transcended¹² the usually very private inter-Korean relationship.

 

1 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。

2 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

3 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 undesirable   

adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子

参考例句：

• They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
• Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。

7 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

8 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。

9 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

10 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

11 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

12 transcended   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• He wanted assurance that he had transcended what was inherently ambiguous. 他要证明，他已经超越了本来就是混淆不清的事情。
• It transcended site to speak to universal human concerns. 它超越了场所的局限，表达了人类共同的心声。