前中情局负责人:暗杀金正男乃消除竞争对手

 

A former acting¹ director of the Central Intelligence Agency recently spoke² to VOA about the killing³ of Kim Jong Nam in Malaysia.

He said the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was murdered to stop any effort to remove the current leadership of the country.

Forty-five-year-old Kim Jong Nam died on February 13th. Malaysian officials say two women poisoned him at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.

Police say the women put VX nerve agent on Kim’s face. VX is a very powerful chemical weapon banned by the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention.

Police in Kuala Lumpur arrested the women and a North Korean citizen last month. On Friday, Malaysia’s national police chief said the North Korean held in connection with the case had been released. However, Malaysian officials say they want to talk to seven other North Koreans -- including a diplomat⁴ based in Kuala Lumpur.

Police in Malaysia have not said that North Korea planned or carried out the murder.

A North Korean official suggested that Kim Jong Nam died of a heart attack. Malaysia’s national police chief said that was not the case according to police experts.

The South Korean government has accused the North Korean leader of ordering the killing of his half-brother.

John McLaughlin was the acting director of the CIA from July to September 2004 and the deputy director from 2000 to 2004. He worked at the CIA for 30 years. He says North Korea likely planned and carried out the attack because of the method used by the women.

“It’s very hard for someone not connected to a state entity⁵ -- a nation-state -- to obtain the kind of poison that was apparently⁶ used.”

At one time, Kim Jong Nam was believed to be the choice of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to rule the country. Kim Jong Il was the leader of North Korea from 1994 until he died in 2011.

Kim Jong Nam has lived outside of North Korea since 2001.

McLaughlin now teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He told VOA that the reason Kim Jong Nam was killed was “the North Korean leadership wanted to make sure there is not an alternative readily available (to replace) Kim Jong Un.”

McLaughlin said the North “particularly would want to make sure that China would not have someone handy that they could install in the event Kim Jong Un was removed or fell from power.”

The murder has caused many to wonder if the North Korean leadership is stable. But McLaughlin said it is important not to speculate about the North’s leadership. However, he said a series of executions carried out by Kim Jong Un since he became the head of the government could mean he might not have complete control over the country.

The killing was reported throughout the world because it took place at one of the busiest airports in Asia. Many observers asked why such a place was chosen.

“It’s probably seen as a more, a place where what they were doing would be less easily noticed just from the general turmoil⁷ of an airport.”

McLaughlin called the attack an “alarming event” because the banned chemical is believed to have been used in a public place to kill someone.

Experts say China wanted Kim Jong Nam to be a member of the North Korean leadership. So, McLaughlin says, his murder puts China in a difficult position.

McLaughlin said the United States should name North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism if it is found to be responsible for the killing. The United States named the North a state sponsor of terrorism after it was determined⁸ that it bombed a South Korean airliner⁹ in 1987, killing 115 crew and passengers.

In 2008, the U.S. said the North was no longer a terrorism sponsor. This removal from the list of countries that support terrorism was part of an agreement in which the North agreed to disable its plutonium plant and permit some inspections¹⁰ of its nuclear facilities.

After reports of the killing in Kuala Lumpur, some American lawmakers are calling on the Trump¹¹ administration to cancel that decision.

Words in This Story

nerve agent – n. a poison that is used as a weapon in war

entity – n. an organization; something that exists by itself; something that is separate from other things

alternative – n. something that can be chosen instead of something else; a choice or option

handy – adj. near or close

install – v. to put (someone) in an official or important job

speculate – v. to think about something and make guesses about it; to form ideas or theories about something usually when there are many things not known about it

sponsor – n. supporter

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 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。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

5 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

10 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。