South Korean officials are suggesting a compromise aimed at reviving efforts to get rid of North Korea's nuclear weapons may not be far off. The United States and North Korea have been negotiating intensively on a means of confirming the accuracy of the nuclear declaration Pyongyang made earlier this year. The potential breakthrough comes at a moment of brinksmanship by the North.
韩国官员提出妥协性方案，目的是不让恢复解除北韩核武器的努力落空。美国和北韩一直在进行密集的谈判，以核实北韩今年早些时候公开的核活动清单的准确性。在北韩采取边缘外交政策的同时，这个问题有可能取得突破。
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told reporters in Seoul Friday the United States will probably announce soon whether it intends to remove North Korea from a State Department list of nations suspected of sponsoring terrorism.
韩国外长柳明桓星期五在首尔对记者说，美国有可能很快宣布是否把北韩从美国国务院涉嫌支持恐怖主义国家的名单上删除。
Washington promised last year to take the North off that list, as part of a broader international deal that committed Pyongyang to declare and disable its main nuclear programs.
华盛顿去年承诺把北韩从这个名单上除名，作为一项广泛的国际协议的一部分。根据这项协议，平壤宣布废弃其主要的核设施。
President Bush delayed the scheduled removal in August, because North Korea refused to agree on steps for verifying the declaration it submitted earlier in the year was accurate. The North responded by ejecting international inspectors from the reprocessing facility at its main nuclear plant in Yongbyon. The United Nations said Friday Pyongyang had informed inspectors they will now be denied access to any part of the Yongbyon complex. North Korea threatened earlier this month to resume deriving material useable for weapons from spent nuclear fuel.
今年8月，布什总统推迟了原定的除名计划，因为北韩不同意采取措施，核实它今年早些时候提交的核清单是准确的。对此，北韩作出的回应是把国际核查员从它在宁边的主要核工厂驱赶出去。联合国星期五表示，平壤通知核查人员，他们现在不得进入宁边设施的任何地方。本月早些时候，北韩还威胁将恢复从废弃的核燃料中提取制造武器所需的材料。
The South's Minister Yu says diplomacy may produce some movement on the stalemate soon.
韩国外长柳明桓表示，外交手段对解决目前的僵持局面有可能起到某种促进作用。
He says the US government is expected to make a decision on the terrorism list in the near future, and that discussions on a verification protocol are still under way.
柳明桓说，美国政府预计在不久的将来会决定是否把北韩从涉嫌支持恐怖主义国家的名单上除名，而核实核清单的讨论仍在进行之中。
Yu pointed out that even though international inspectors have been denied access to Yongbyon, they are still being housed in North Korean dormitories near the complex and not expelled from the country. He says a compromise deal would focus narrowly on the North's plutonium-related nuclear activities.
柳明桓指出，尽管国际核查员被拒绝进入宁边核工厂，但是他们仍然住在靠近核工厂附近的宿舍里，并没有被赶出北韩。他说，妥协性协议的涉及面很窄，将主要集中在北韩与金属钸有关的核活动上面。
He says other issues, particularly that of a suspected North Korean uranium enrichment program, will be handled later on, as it is impossible to deal with every issue at once.
他说，其它议题，特别是北韩涉嫌提炼浓缩铀的计划将在以后处理，因为一次不可能解决所有的问题。
Washington's chief envoy on the nuclear issue, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, met with senior North Korean officials last week in Pyongyang and is still conferring with his superiors in Washington. The Bush administration has not made any substantial details of the latest negotiations public.
华盛顿核武器谈判特使，助理国务卿希尔上个星期同北韩官员在平壤举行了会晤，他仍在和华盛顿的上级进行商议。布什政府还没有把最新几轮谈判的实质性细节公布于众。
Dan Pinkston, a Seoul-based analyst with the International Crisis Group, speculates Washington and Pyongyang may soon reach a verification compromise.
平克斯顿是“国际危机组织”驻首尔的分析人士。他推测，华盛顿和平壤很快会就核实核清单的问题达成一项妥协性协议。
"And that gets very technical and very detailed as far as environmental samples, and when and where they can take those samples, access to individual scientists and engineers for interviews, and records, and which kind of sites are available," Pinkston said. "And the technical people will have to work that out, and I'm sure there's been some lengthy discussions about that."
“这是一个技术性很强的问题，而且就环境样品而言，内容也非常繁琐，例如什么时候以及在什么地方可以得到这些样片，能否接触到科学家和工程师本人进行访问并查看记录，以及哪一类设施可以接受核查等。这些都是技术人员要解决的问题。我相信，双方已经就这些问题进行了长时间的谈判。”
Pinkston believes it makes sense to delay issues unrelated to North Korea's plutonium programs like the one at Yongbyon. He says other matters can be handled after next month's U.S. presidential election.
"Wrapping up this second phase, disablement, would be a positive step - and we could move toward the dismantlement phase with the new administration in the U.S.," he said.
North Korea conducted a nuclear test explosion in 2006. Several international media reports have reported possible suspicious activity at the site of that test, suggesting Pyongyang may be planning a followup.
北韩在2006年进行过一次核试验。几家国际媒体的报道暗示，平壤有可能计划再进行一次核试验，因为那个试验场地发现有可疑活动。 |