AS IT IS 2016-04-30 North Korea Sentences Korean-American to Hard Labor

AS IT IS 2016-04-30 North Korea Sentences Korean-American to Hard Labor¹

A North Korean court has sentenced a Korean-American man to 10 years of hard labor.

Kim Dong Chul was given the sentence on Friday after the court found him guilty on subversion² charges.

Kim is a naturalized citizen of the United States. He admitted last month that he had attempted to steal North Korean military secrets. His confession³ took place in front of reporters in Pyongyang. He was arrested in October 2015.

His confession came a week after a North Korean court sentenced Otto Warmbier, an American college student, to 15 years of hard labor. The court acted after Warmbier said he had attempted to steal a propaganda banner.

Observers note that North Korean officials likely pressured the confessions⁴ of both men.

Tensions between the United States and North Korea have risen in recent months because of the North’s nuclear weapons and long-range rocket tests.

The U.S., South Korea and Japan have increased their defense⁵ readiness in response to the tests.

U.S. and South Korean forces held their yearly joint⁶ military exercises in March. Those exercises were described as the largest ever.

Also in March, the United Nations Security Council approved the strongest sanctions yet on North Korea for its nuclear and missile activities.

Words in This Story

confession – n. a written or spoken statement in which a person admits to something, usually something wrong

sanctions – n. action is taken to force a country to obey international law

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 subversion   

n.颠覆，破坏

参考例句：

• He was arrested in parliament on charges of subversion for organizing the demonstration.他因组织示威活动在议会上被以颠覆破坏罪名逮捕。
• It had a cultural identity relatively immune to subversion from neighboring countries.它的文化同一性使它相对地不易被邻国所颠覆。

3 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

4 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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。

6 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。