VOA标准英语2008年-US Sends Top Envoy to North Korea to Try to Sav

The United States is sending a senior diplomat¹ to Pyongyang this week to try to salvage² the troubled six-party accord, under which North Korea is to scrap³ its nuclear program. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department that Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, chief U.S. envoy⁴ to the nuclear talks, will also visit Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo.
　
US Assistant Secretary of State, Christopher Hill

The dispatch of Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill to the region underlines U.S. concern about the six-party deal, which appears to be crumbling⁵ amid North Korea moves to reverse disarmament steps.

North Korea has expelled international monitors from its partially-disabled Yongbyon reactor⁶ complex, and taken steps to reactivate the facility, in a dispute over verifying the declaration of its nuclear program it made in June.

North Korea alleges⁷ the United State reneged on a promise to remove it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after the declaration, but U.S. officials say de-listing depends on submission⁸ by North Korea of an acceptable verification plan.

The State Department says Hill, who has been holding consultations⁹ on the nuclear issue on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, will arrive in Seoul late Tuesday and go on from there to Pyongyang, Beijing and Tokyo.

Deputy State Department Spokesman Robert Wood said Hill will try to ascertain¹⁰ why North Korea has moved to reverse implementation¹¹ of the accord, under which Pyongyang is to get aid and diplomatic benefits from the other parties for scrapping¹² its nuclear program, including weapons.

The secretive communist government is understood to be reluctant to accept intrusive¹³ verification, and some analysts¹⁴ say the terms sought by the United States are especially severe.

But spokesman Wood said all the parties to the talks, including North Korea, agreed in principle on the need for a verification plan in July. He said North Korea, which has already handed over thousands of documents on its program, is not being asked to submit to unreasonable¹⁵ inspection¹⁶ measures.

"We are talking about a standard verification package. This is not onerous," he said. "This is not unusual in terms of trying to verify activities that may have taken place. So the North cannot expect that after submitting over 19,000 pages that obviously we, the other parties to the framework, we would need to verify what they submitted. And so, Chris Hill will be going to the region to try to look for ways to encourage the North to live up to its obligations."

Wood declined to discuss what message Hill will be taking to Pyongyang and the other principals in the talks, but said he is obviously going to the region with some ideas about how to move the process forward.

At the same time, a senior U.S. diplomat discouraged the notion Hill was ready to propose softer inspection terms. He said the verification measures being sought for North Korea are not unlike those accepted by Libya when it gave up its weapons of mass destruction programs in 2003.

The U.S. official said Hill would to try to get a sense as to why North Korea's posture¹⁷ in recent weeks has become so difficult.

There have been suggestions Pyongyang may want to stall the process until the change of U.S. administrations. But the diplomat said Pyongyang has a very good offer in front of it, and should not assume it will get a better deal from the next U.S. president.

 

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

3 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

4 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。

5 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

6 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

7 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。

8 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

9 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

11 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

12 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

13 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

16 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

17 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。