Mystery Still Surrounds Remains Given to Japan by N. Korea

 

By Steve Herman

Japan is lodging¹ a protest with North Korea after forensic² tests confirmed that what Pyongyang said were the remains³ of a Japanese woman abducted⁴ by North Korean agents are actually those of someone else.

Japanese government officials call this a major obstacle to pursuing talks on bilateral⁵ relations.

The government on Wednesday announced that DNA⁶ analysis of cremated⁷ remains handed over by North Korea are actually those of two different people, neither of whom is Megumi Yokota.

Ms. Yokota was kidnapped near her home by North Korean agents in 1977 at the age of 13. She was one of at least 13 Japanese abducted by North Korea during the Cold War, and Pyongyang says she killed herself in a hospital in 1994.

Pyongyang handed over the remains as a way of promoting talks on improving North Korean-Japanese relations. Instead, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Wednesday that Japan is immediately filing a protest over the incident.

Mr. Hosoda says this is extremely regrettable and a setback⁹ in establishing formal relations with the North. He also says Japan might stop food aid shipments to the impoverished¹⁰ communist state.

Megumi Yokota's family has been leading a campaign to pressure Pyongyang for information on the abductees. They reacted to Wednesday's news with a mixture of relief and anger.

Sakie Yokota, Megumi's mother, says she expected the forensic testing to confirm the ashes were not those of her daughter and, for that, she is relieved.
The Yokota family says it believes that Megumi is still alive, and the fact that North Korea could not hand over her remains supports that belief.

Mrs. Yokota says the deception¹¹ shows the cruelty and brutality¹² of the North Korean regime.

She and her husband, Shigeru, strongly urged the Japanese government to impose immediate⁸ economic sanctions on Pyongyang.

Shinzo Abe, acting¹³ Secretary General of Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party, also lashed¹⁴ out at North Korea after the findings were made public.
Mr. Abe says North Korea's handing over of the bogus remains is a cold-blooded and insincere act.

Mr. Abe, who favors imposing¹⁵ sanctions, says there is no way Japan will establish diplomatic relations with North Korea until the abduction issue is settled.

Five abductees returned to Japan in 2002 after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang.

North Korea insists that eight other Japanese who were also kidnapped, including Ms. Yokota, have since died. The fate of another two that Japan says were also abducted is not known, and Pyongyang insists it has no knowledge of the pair.

Steve Herman, VOA News, Tokyo.
注释：
forensic 法院的
remains 遗迹
obstacle 障碍
cremated 火葬
hand over 移交
kidnap 绑架
regrettable 可惜的
setback 退步
relief （痛苦等的）减轻
deception 欺骗
cruelty 残忍
brutality 残忍
bogus 伪造的

1 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

2 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

5 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

6 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

7 cremated   

v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He wants to is cremated, not buried. 他要火葬，不要土葬。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bodies were cremated on the shore. 他们的尸体在海边火化了。 来自辞典例句

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

9 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

10 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

12 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

13 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。

14 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。