如果没有核协议 美朝的下一步走向何方

Without Nuclear Deal, What’s Next for US-North Korea

American President Donald Trump¹ says he walked away from a nuclear deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Vietnam on Thursday.

Trump said Kim was only willing to give up North Korea’s main nuclear structure at Yongbyon -- and not complete denuclearization. In return, the North Korean leader demanded that all sanctions against his country be lifted.

Trump said, “Basically, they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that.”

The United States and the United Nations had increased sanctions on North Korea in 2017, after the country carried out a series of nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The measures have created economic difficulties for North Korea.

Hours after Trump left Hanoi, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said that North Korea had sought only a partial lifting of sanctions "related to people's livelihoods² and unrelated to military sanctions."

A second official added that Kim “might lose his willingness to pursue a deal” after the U.S. rejected the offer.

South Korea’s presidential spokesman said in a statement, "(We) do feel regret that President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un could not reach complete agreement at today's summit. But it also appears that they have clearly made more meaningful progress than at any time in the past."

China’s foreign ministry³ spokesman said in his regular meeting with reporters Thursday, “the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has been there for many years and cannot be resolved overnight without effort.”

He added that, “based on what we can see from the reports by far, the two sides may continue with their talks at the working level...”

Is Kim testing Trump?

There was hope of an agreement when the two leaders began their two-day meeting on Wednesday.

When a reporter asked Kim that day if he was ready to give up his nuclear weapons, the North Korean leader said, “If I’m not willing to do that, I won’t be here right now.”

The White House even scheduled a “joint agreement signing ceremony” at the end of the talks. The ceremony did not take place, as Trump quickly left Vietnam.

The first meeting between Trump and Kim, held in June in Singapore, produced a statement that North Korea would work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. But little progress followed.

U.S. intelligence officials have recently said that North Korea is unlikely to give up all of its nuclear weapons. They say its leaders consider nuclear weapon to be critical to the ruling family’s survival.

Daniel Russel is a former top State Department diplomat⁴ for East Asia. He told the Reuters news agency, “Kim Jong-un is not testing ballistic missiles and nuclear bombs at the moment, but he is testing Donald Trump.”

Russel added that, given Trump’s troubles in the United States, Kim may have been trying to see if Trump was “desperate enough to take any deal he could get.”

As the two leaders were meeting in Hanoi, Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, appeared before Congress and accused the president of several wrongdoings.

Working level talks

After last year’s Singapore summit, U.S. negotiators had difficulties trying to meet with the North Koreans.

On Thursday, U.S. Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat⁵, wrote on Twitter, “The lack of working-level talks in the lead up to the Hanoi Summit undermined the chances of reaching a successful deal.”

Russel agreed that without working-level talks, it is harder for the two the two leaders to reach a deal. He said, “At this point it will be no easy matter to persuade North Korea to move quickly, to deal with U.S. negotiators rather than with Trump directly, or to accept that its entire nuclear and missile program must be on the table.”

Kyle Ferrier is director of the Washington-based Korea Economic Institute. He said, “By walking away from the table, Trump is effectively signaling to North Korea that they will have to deal more with Steve Biegun,” the U.S. special envoy⁶ for North Korea.

Ferrier added, “What is needed now are small steps to keep the diplomatic momentum⁷ going.”

I'm Caty Weaver⁸.

Words in This Story

sanction - n. an action that is taken to force a country to obey international laws by limiting trade or economic activity

entirety - n. the whole or total amount of something

peninsula - n a piece of land that is almost entirely⁹ surrounded by water and is attached to a larger area of land

ballistic missile - n. a weapon that is shot through the sky over a great distance

desperate - adj. having a strong need or desire to do something

undermine - v. to make something less effective

on the table - phrase, to be available or put forward

momentum - n. the strength or force that allows something to continue

1 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。

2 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

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 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。