朝韩对话达协议缓解紧张局势

 　　A joint¹ statement issued after 43-hours of marathon talks says South Korea will stop the loudspeaker broadcasts by midday this Tuesday.

　　In exchange, the North will end its "semi-state of war."

　　Seoul restarted its anti-Pyongyang broadcasts last week after a landmine² injured two of its soldiers on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone earlier this month.

　　The South's lead negotiator Kim Kwan-Jin says the North has agreed to "express regret" over the incident.

　　"North Korea expressed regret over a recent landmine incident in the South's side of Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) along the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) that wounded the South's soldiers. South Korea agreed to halt anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts along the MDL from 12:00 noon local time on August 25. North Korea agreed to end the quasi state of war."

　　朝韩对话达协议缓解紧张局势

　　At the same time, Kim Kwan-Jin says their talks at the Panmunjom Peace Village inside the DMZ has also seen the two sides agree to a resumption of family reunions for those separated by the armistace over 60-years ago.

　　"South and North Korea agreed to arrange reunions for separated families on upcoming Thanksgiving Day and have meeting with the Red Cross for this in early September. South and North Korea agreed to vitalize private interchange in various fields."

　　There are also plans for follow-up talks to discuss other issues on improving ties.

　　Tensions on the Korean peninsula were cranked up after a mine blast in the demilitarized zone injured two South Korean soldiers on August 4th.

　　This prompted the South to resume its anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts after an 11-year hiatus.

　　But the North has denied having planted the mines.

　　It also denied shelling South Korea last week - an incident that prompted artillery³ fire from the South.

　　Pyongyang announced a "semi-state of war" last week after the exchange.

　　The South Korean Defense⁴ Ministry⁵ says the North had doubled its artillery forces on the front lines and mobilized it submarine fleet as well.

　　The South had been warning it would "retaliate⁶ harshly" to any further North Korean provocations⁷.

　　About 4-thouasnd residents were also evacuated⁸ from border areas in South Korea last week.

　　Meanwhile, the US State Department says it is closely watching developments in the region.

　　US State Department Spokesperson John Kirby.

　　"Obviously, it was a very tense several days and we're mindful of that. And again, we welcome this agreement, but now it's up to the North to act and not simply just, you know, make assurances with respect to their own military activities there along the border, so we're going to see how this -- how it plays out."

　　The two Koreas remain technically⁹ at war, with the 1950 to 1953 Korean War ending in an armistice¹⁰, not a peace treaty.

　　For Cri I'm Poornima Weerasekara

1 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。

2 landmine   

n.地雷

参考例句：

• A landmine is a kind of weapon used in war.地雷是一种运用于战争的武器。
• The treaty bans the use,production and trade of landmine.那条约禁止使用生产和交易雷。

3 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

4 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。

5 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。

6 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

7 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》

8 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

9 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

10 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。