美国特使将访问朝鲜寻求释放美公民

 　　A flurry of diplomatic efforts between China, the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have raised hopes for the release of US citizen Kenneth Bae and the resumption of stalled Six-Party Talks.

　　The US State Department announced on Tuesday that Robert King, special envoy¹ for DPRK human rights issues, will travel to Pyongyang on Friday at the invitation of the government of the DPRK, on a humanitarian² mission to secure Bae's release.

　　Bae was arrested in the DPRK in November 2012 and sentenced in April to 15 years of hard labor³ for hostile acts against the country.

　　"King will request the DPRK pardon Mr Bae and grant him special amnesty on humanitarian grounds, so that he can be reunited with his family and seek medical treatment," the statement said.

　　King's trip will not be directly connected to the nuclear issue, Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency quoted an unnamed official of the Republic of Korea Ministry⁴ of Foreign Affairs and Trade as saying on Wednesday.

　　But the "possibility cannot be ruled out" that the US special envoy will serve as a messenger, bringing information from the DPRK to the White House regarding the situation on the peninsula, said Huang Youfu, a professor of Korean studies at Minzu University of China in Beijing.

　　"We cannot expect too much from his role as a messenger," Huang said.

　　While King travels to the DPRK, Danny Russel, US assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will visit Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo next week to discuss bilateral⁵ and regional issues, including the latest situation on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap said.

　　It will be Russel's first visit to Northeast Asia since he was officially appointed early this month. Previously⁶, Russel served on the White House National Security Council.

　　Officials from the US, the ROK and Japan have insisted that Pyongyang show more sincerity⁷ by first renouncing⁸ its nuclear program before they consider restarting talks.

　　Scott Snyder, a senior fellow for peninsular studies and director of the Program on US-Korea Policy at the US Council on Foreign Relations, believes Washington is still waiting for Pyongyang to take the necessary steps to create conditions for resuming the Six-Party Talks.

　　"I do not know if Russel's trip will result in the DPRK taking these steps," he said.

　　Tensions on the peninsula flared⁹ following the DPRK's nuclear test in February - its third.

　　On Monday, Wu Dawei, China's special envoy for Korean Peninsula affairs, arrived in Pyongyang with hopes of restarting the Six-Party Talks and further improving the situation on the peninsula.

1 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。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 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。

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 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

8 renouncing   

v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• He enraged the government by renouncing the agreement. 他否认那项协议，从而激怒了政府。 来自辞典例句
• What do you get for renouncing Taiwan and embracing Beijing instead? 抛弃台湾，并转而拥抱北京之后，你会得到什么？ 来自互联网

9 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。