The United States is sending a senior diplomat to Pyongyang this week to try to salvage the troubled six-party accord, under which North Korea is to scrap its nuclear program. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, chief U.S. envoy to the nuclear talks, will also visit Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo.
美国这星期将派遣一名高级外交官前往平壤，争取挽救陷入困境的六方协议，这项协议要求北韩废除其核计划。参加北韩核谈判的美国首席代表、助理国务卿希尔还将访问首尔、北京和东京。
The dispatch of Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill to the region underlines U.S. concern about the six-party deal, which appears to be crumbling amid North Korea moves to reverse disarmament steps.
派遣希尔前往该地区显示美国对六方协议的关切，由于北韩有可能逆转其废核步骤，这项协议目前看来似乎会夭折。
North Korea has expelled international monitors from its partially-disabled Yongbyon reactor complex, and taken steps to reactivate the facility, in a dispute over verifying the declaration of its nuclear program it made in June.
由于在如何证实北韩六月提出的核计划清单的问题上存在分歧，北韩把国际监督人员驱逐出已经部分废除的宁边反应堆设施，并且采取步骤重新启动该设施。
North Korea alleges the United State reneged on a promise to remove it from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after the declaration, but U.S. officials say de-listing depends on submission by North Korea of an acceptable verification plan.
北韩声称美国没有兑现承诺，在北韩提交核清单之后将它从支持恐怖主义国家名单上删除，而美国官员表示，要从名单上除名在于北韩提交可以接受的核实方案。
The State Department says Hill, who has been holding consultations on the nuclear issue on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, will arrive in Seoul late Tuesday and go on from there to Pyongyang, Beijing and Tokyo.
Deputy State Department Spokesman Robert Wood said Hill will try to ascertain why North Korea has moved to reverse implementation of the accord, under which Pyongyang is to get aid and diplomatic benefits from the other parties for scrapping its nuclear program, including weapons.
美国国务院副发言人伍德说，希尔将争取弄清楚为什么北韩在贯彻六方会谈协议方面开始逆转。根据协议，北韩废除包括核武器在内的核计划就会从六方会谈其它各方得到援助和外交方面的利益。
The secretive communist government is understood to be reluctant to accept intrusive verification, and some analysts say the terms sought by the United States are especially severe.
人们认为，北韩这个神秘的共产党政府不愿意接受深入境内的核实方案。一些分析人士认为，美国在核实问题上的条件也特别严格。
But spokesman Wood said all the parties to the talks, including North Korea, agreed in principle on the need for a verification plan in July. He said North Korea, which has already handed over thousands of documents on its program, is not being asked to submit to unreasonable inspection measures.
不过，国务院发言人伍德表示，包括北韩在内的所有会谈各方七月份都原则上同意有必要制定一项核实方案。他说，北韩已经交出了数千页的核计划文件，其它各方并没有要求北韩递交不合理的核查方式。
"We are talking about a standard verification package. This is not onerous," he said. "This is not unusual in terms of trying to verify activities that may have taken place. So the North cannot expect that after submitting over 19,000 pages that obviously we, the other parties to the framework, we would need to verify what they submitted. And so, Chris Hill will be going to the region to try to look for ways to encourage the North to live up to its obligations."
伍德说：“我们说的是一套常规的方案。为了设法证实过去可能采取过的行动，这并不是过分的。 因此北韩不要认为，它交出了1万9千页的核文件之后，六方会谈的其它各方就一定需要核实所有的文件。因此，希尔这次去就是要争取说服北韩履行它的义务。”
Wood declined to discuss what message Hill will be taking to Pyongyang and the other principals in the talks, but said he is obviously going to the region with some ideas about how to move the process forward.
伍德不愿意详细说明希尔这次给平壤和会谈的其它主要各方带去什么信息。不过，他说，希尔显然有一些如何推动这一进程的想法。
At the same time, a senior U.S. diplomat discouraged the notion Hill was ready to propose softer inspection terms. He said the verification measures being sought for North Korea are not unlike those accepted by Libya when it gave up its weapons of mass destruction programs in 2003.
同时，美国一位资深外交官劝人们不要认为希尔这次去会提出更加温和的核查条件。他说，核实北韩的方式跟利比亚2003年放弃其大规模杀伤性武器计划时接受的核实条件并没有什么不同。
The U.S. official said Hill would to try to get a sense as to why North Korea's posture in recent weeks has become so difficult.
这位资深美国官员表示，希尔会尽量了解北韩最近几个星期来的立场为什么会变得如此困难。
There have been suggestions Pyongyang may want to stall the process until the change of U.S. administrations. But the diplomat said Pyongyang has a very good offer in front of it, and should not assume it will get a better deal from the next U.S. president.
有人说，平壤可能希望在美国新政府上台之前让废核化进程陷入停滞。不过这位美国资深外交官认为，现在摆在平壤面前的条件是非常有利的，因此，不应该认为它能从下届美国总统那里得到更好的待遇。 |