美国敦促朝鲜避免进一步挑衅

 　　WASHINGTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to refrain from further provocations¹ amid reports of an imminent² missile launch by the Asian nation.

　　State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Washington was monitoring the situation and coordinating³ "closely" with its allies and partners.

　　"As we've said many times before, a ballistic missile launch would be a clear violation⁴ of North Korea's obligations under numerous (UN) Security Council resolutions," he told reporters at a regular news briefing.

　　"It would only further isolate⁵ North Korea, undermine its goal of economic development," he added. "So we urge the DPRK to refrain from taking further provocative⁶ actions."

　　Citing intelligence, South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said on Wednesday that it is highly likely that the DPRK would launch a mid-range missile "at any time from now on."

　　Ventrell said the U.S. was taking "a range of prudent⁷ measures, " including missile defense⁸, to defend itself and allies against threats posed by the DPRK.

　　Tensions have been heightened on the Korean Peninsula since the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test on Feb. 12 in protest against joint⁹ military drills between Seoul and Washington.

　　The DPRK has declared "a state of war" with the South and threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike for self-defense.

　　The country on Tuesday urged all foreign organizations, companies and tourists in the South to evacuate¹⁰ in case of war, saying the DPRK "does not want to see foreigners in South Korea fall victim to the war" as the situation on the peninsula "is inching close to a thermonuclear war."

　　"We don't have a recommendation for American citizens to take any particular precautions at this time," Ventrell said.

1 provocations   

n.挑衅( provocation的名词复数 )；激怒；刺激；愤怒的原因

参考例句：

• We cannot ignore such provocations. 对于这种挑衅，我们不能置之不理。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They must immediately cease all their provocations. 他们必须停止一切挑衅。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

3 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

4 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。

5 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

6 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

7 prudent   

adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country.聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。
• You must school yourself to be modest and prudent.你要学会谦虚谨慎。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。