US 'opposes' nuclear North Korea

US 'opposes' nuclear North Korea

 美国反对朝鲜核计划

 

Robert Gates says the US will not accept Pyongyang's nuclear activities

The US "will not accept" a nuclear-armed North Korea, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has told an Asian summit.

 

Mr Gates told his counterparts the US would "not stand idly by as North Korea builds the capability¹ to wreak² destruction（破坏，毁灭） on any target".

 

A top Chinese army official attending the meeting in Singapore called on Pyongyang to move to denuclearisation.

 

Earlier, the US said activity in the North could indicate plans for a new long-range missile（导弹） test.

 

Vehicle movements resembled the build-up to a test last month, the US said.

 

'Potential arms race'

 

Speaking in Singapore, Mr Gates made it clear the US would take an extremely dim view（悲观的看法） of more nuclear or missile testing by North Korea.

 

"The truth of the matter is if they continue on the path they are on, I think the consequences for stability in the region are significant.

 

  Our stand on the issue is consistent. We are resolutely³(坚决的，果断的) opposed to nuclear proliferation （增殖，分芽繁殖）

 

Ma Xiaotian

People's Liberation Army, China

"I think it poses the potential for some kind of an arms race here in this region.

 

"We will not stand idly （懒散的，漫不经心的）by as North Korea builds the capability to wreak destruction on any target in the region or on us," Mr Gates added.

 

But he insisted the next step in negating⁴ Pyongyang's ambitions would be political, not military.

 

The Pentagon chief also argued for bolstering（支持） diplomatic relations with China, and cited common challenges facing regional Asian powers: counterterrorism(反暴力主义), piracy⁵, energy security and disaster relief.

 

"It is essential for the United States and China to find opportunities to co-operate wherever possible," he said.

 

The BBC's Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says Mr Gates' speech is probably intended to reassure⁶ countries in this region that the new administration in Washington is committed to support its allies.

 

Some of his words were echoed by Ma Xiaotian, deputy（代理的，副的） chief of general staff of China's People's Liberation Army.

 

"Our stand on the issue is consistent（始终如一的）. We are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation. Our view is that the Korean peninsula should move towards denuclearisation," Mr Ma told the summit.

 

"Our hope is that all parties concerned will remain cool-headed and take measures to address the problem."

 

New test concerns

 

Before Mr Gates spoke⁷, defence officials in Washington said US satellite photos had revealed vehicle activity at a site in North Korea used to fire long-range missiles.

 

 Q&A: North Korea nuclear test

What is N Korea's game plan? 

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity（在匿名的情况下）, said the US was closely monitoring（监视，控制） the North's missile sites and other sensitive facilities.

 

However, a Pentagon official told the BBC that the US had noticed this type of activity on previous occasions which did not always lead to a missile being fired.

 

The official said activity at this site had been going on for more than a couple of days, but did not know for how long exactly.

 

On Friday, Pyongyang also fired a short-range missile off its east coast, and warned of "self-defence" measures if the UN Security Council imposed sanctions over what it says was a successful nuclear test carried out earlier in the week.

 

The North has been subject to international criticism, including from the US, China and Russia, since the explosion, which if confirmed would be the North's second ever atomic test.

 

The hardline communist state, under President Kim Jong-il, has threatened military action against the South after Seoul's decision to join a US-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) under which North Korean ships could be stopped and searched.

 

US and South Korean troops are currently on high alert after the North said it was no longer bound by the truce⁸ that ended the Korean war in 1953.

 

Pyongyang says this decision to join the PSI is tantamount to an act of war. (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

2 wreak   

v.发泄；报复

参考例句：

• She had a burning desire to wreak revenge.她复仇心切。
• Timid people always wreak their peevishness on the gentle.怯懦的人总是把满腹牢骚向温和的人发泄。

3 resolutely   

adj.坚决地，果断地

参考例句：

• He resolutely adhered to what he had said at the meeting. 他坚持他在会上所说的话。
• He grumbles at his lot instead of resolutely facing his difficulties. 他不是果敢地去面对困难，而是抱怨自己运气不佳。

4 negating   

v.取消( negate的现在分词 )；使无效；否定；否认

参考例句：

• The decline of community life is negating the work of welfare services. 社区生活的下降否定了福利机构的工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Post-modernity transcends modernity by the means of negating and clearing up selfhood. 后现代超越现代性是通过否定和消解主体来实现的。 来自互联网

5 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

6 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。