VOA标准英语 US Advises Patience on N. Korea Missile Diplomacy at

The Obama administration is advising patience in efforts to develop a unified¹ response in the U.N. Security Council to North Korea's test of a long-range ballistic missile on Sunday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had telephone discussions on the issue Tuesday with her Russian and Chinese counterparts.

Officials here said the fact that three days have elapsed without a U.N. Security Council condemnation² of North Korea for its missile test does not represent a failure of U.S. diplomacy³. They said the Obama administration's emphasis is on an appropriate - rather than speedy - response.

The Security Council convened⁴ on Sunday, within hours of the North Korean test, which the United States says violated a 2006 Security Council resolution and should not go unpunished.

But the full council has not reconvened for action, amid reports that Russia, China and some other members of the 15-nation panel are resisting calls for tightening⁵ sanctions on North Korea.
　
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New Zealand's FM Murray McCully, after meeting at the State Dept. in Washington, 07 Apr 2009

At a State Department press event with New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully, Secretary Clinton advised patience on the issue, saying that while 72 hours without action may seem like a long time for television news, it is not a long time in international relations or in the affairs of the Security Council.

State Department Acting⁶ Spokesman Robert Wood sounded a similar theme, saying that the United States is seeking a proper response on a complicated matter.

"This is not something you can expect that's going to be solved immediately. This is going to take a little time. This is an important issue. We want to make sure we get it right. We want to have the right response to what the North has done. So we're going to continue to work very hard on this track. But you need to understand and have some patience with this process," he said.

Wood said Clinton had spoken by telephone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, apparently⁷ in pursuit of a compromise in the Security Council.

U.S. officials have signaled flexibility⁸, saying that a new council resolution or a consensus⁹ policy statement would be a proper outcome, provided it contained sufficiently¹⁰ strong language condemning¹¹ Pyongyang's actions.

The United States, Japan and South Korea said the launch of the three-stage missile was a clear violation¹² of Security Council resolution 1718, which was adopted unanimously in 2006 after North Korea's underground nuclear explosion. It demanded an end to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests.
　
South Koreans watch a TV news program on North Korea's rocket launch at a train station in Seoul, 05 Apr 2009

North Korea said the launch was an attempt to put a satellite into orbit. China has suggested that North Korea is entitled to do so as a peaceful act of space exploration.

U.S. officials said the launch, under whatever guise¹³, violated the Security Council resolution. The U.S. military said no part of the rocket, which traveled more than 3,000 kilometers, reached orbit despite Pyongyang's claims to the contrary.

Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said the credibility and authority of the Security Council will be undermined if it fails to respond to the North Korean violation.

1 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

2 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

3 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。

4 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

5 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 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。

8 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

9 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

10 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

11 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

12 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

13 guise   

n.外表，伪装的姿态

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors.他们假装成视察员进了学校。
• The thief came into the house under the guise of a repairman.那小偷扮成个修理匠进了屋子。