美国国家公共电台 NPR Calm In Seoul As The North Korea Question Grows More Urgent

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

While the U.S. and China to sort out how to respond to North Korea's test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, little has changed in South Korea. NPR's Elise Hu reports from Seoul that life is more or less going on as normal.

ELISE HU, BYLINE¹: On the bustling² sidewalks near Seoul's Yonsei University, packs of students stream in and out of skincare stores, dessert cafes and coffee shops. College senior Esther Bang is caught up on the headlines...

ESTHER BANG: There were some news that are saying the launch was successful.

HU: ...But beyond that, seemingly unconcerned.

BANG: I think it's just, like, a whatever attitude that we are having.

HU: Even a North Korean milestone³ - launching a missile that could threaten the South's longtime ally, the United States - isn't enough to rattle⁴ people here or shake up any routines.

BANG: It's, like, so common to hear the news, and this kind of conflict have been going on for, like, 50 years.

HU: South Korea has lived under the threat of attack by its hostile northern neighbor for so many decades that it has a desensitizing effect.

BONG YOUNGSHIK: So this is not an unusual situation for most of South Koreans to deal with.

HU: That's North Korea researcher Bong Youngshik of the Seoul-based think tank Asan Institute. He says the general public's relative calm may actually be helpful during a time of heightened geopolitical tension.

BONG: Well, the calmness pervasive⁵ among South Koreans can be a good asset for the leadership, but that does not mean that South Koreans do not care about what kind of North Korean policy the South Korean government would make. They do care about national security policy.

HU: South Koreans voted in a new president, Moon Jae-in, in May. He campaigned on a platform of improving relations with North Korea. With Moon at the helm, Bong says there's growing calls for diplomatic overtures⁶ to Pyongyang, especially since other options like a military strike would be so catastrophic.

BONG: There is a growing support in favor of giving diplomacy⁷ a chance in South Korea, of course in China and even in the United States.

HU: While the United States has not been willing to meet with North Korea unless Pyongyang agreed to put denuclearization on the table, President Moon has a less-ambitious short-term goal. He has said he's willing to talk to North Korea even if it's just to get to a freeze, a pause of Pyongyang's nuclear program.

SUE MI TERRY: Maybe a pause as a short-term solution is possible.

HU: Former CIA analyst⁸ Sue Mi Terry recently met with North Koreans in back-channel conversations. She says for talks to get somewhere, the U.S. and its allies would have to be prepared to give something up.

TERRY: Pause could be possibly on, but that would mean for us to accept North Korea as a nuclear state, and that's very important for the North Koreans.

HU: And that's something the U.S. has so far been unwilling⁹ to do. But this type of question - denuclearization versus¹⁰ a freeze - is something workaday Koreans like Lim Sang-woo say they're happy to leave to the policymakers.

LIM SANG-WOO: My friends - we never debate about that because for us, that topic is not that popular.

HU: It's not that he's unaware¹¹ of the consequences of something going wrong on the Korean peninsula.

LIM: If they try to attack Seoul by missiles, then maybe Seoul will be devastated¹² but not only Seoul.

HU: Being under an existential threat for so long means you learn to live with it.

LIM: You know if you come here, it's not that dangerous place I think.

HU: Here, all the talk of a North Korean threat is just part of the daily noise. Elise Hu, NPR News, Seoul.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

5 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

6 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

10 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

11 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。