2006年VOA标准英语-S. Korea's Controversial Engagement with North,

By Kurt Achin
Mount Kumgang, North Korea
31 October 2006

South Korean leaders have celebrated¹ two massive projects they built in communist North Korea as symbols of peaceful inter-Korean cooperation. The Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Kumgang Tourist Zone - both at the heart of Seoul's engagement policy with Pyongyang - have until recently been largely immune to political criticism. But that all changed in October with North Korea's first-ever nuclear test. VOA's Kurt Achin visited Kaesong earlier this year and has just returned from Mount Kumgang. He takes a closer look at the controversy².

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North Korean workers construct factory in Kaesong Industrial Complex, north of inter-Korean border (2004 file photo)  
  
The Kaesong Industrial Complex and the Kumgang Tourism Zone were built and are run by South Korea's Hyundai Asan Corporation following a historic 2000 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

That meeting - the first and only between leaders of the two Koreas - unleashed³ a flood of goodwill⁴ among South Koreans toward the communist North, and buttressed⁵ support for the so-called "Sunshine Policy."

That strategy maintains Pyongyang can be gently wooed into opening up to the world and eventually reunification - with financial help. As a result, the two cooperation zones have received tens of millions of South Korean tax dollars.

The Kaesong complex, just 70 kilometers north of Seoul, employs about 6,000 North Korean workers, making low-skilled consumer items for South Korean companies. When international journalists visited in February, they were shown a promotional video hailing the zone as a political watershed⁶.

"The Kaesong Industrial Complex, where conflicts are thawing⁷, where reconciliations⁹ are being made, and new hopes are being manufactured," the video explains.

A similar spirit of feel-good reconciliation⁸ prevails here at Mount Kumgang, a hiking and leisure enclave built near North Korea's southeastern coastal¹⁰ border.

North Korean performers at Kumgang regale¹¹ visitors with songs of emotional longing¹² to see lost friends and family. Hedges are trimmed into the shape of a unified¹³ Korean peninsula.

South Korean tourists sit on Kumgangsan Beach at Kosung of Diamond Mountain, North Korea (2004 file photo)  
  
Crystal clear streams flow at Kumgang - and so does the hard currency.

Together, the Kumgang and Kaesong zones have put nearly $1 billion in Pyongyang's treasury¹⁴ since 1998. The administrations of Kim Dae-jung and current South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun justified¹⁵ the money as an investment in keeping the North nuclear weapons-free.

Then came October 9.

North Korea announced its first-ever nuclear weapons test - and simultaneously¹⁶ set off a debate about whether all that money had really been well spent.

Senior U.S. officials are taking specific aim at the Kumgang project. In what he described as a "personal opinion", U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill implied the Kaesong zone had some merit but Kumgang was just a money machine for Pyongyang.

Christopher Hill   
  
"I think one is designed maybe to make a long-term investment in human capital, and the other seems to be designed more to give money to the North Korean authorities," he said.

In South Korea, the nuclear test and the resulting U.N. economic sanctions imposed on North Korea are causing many here to question whether their country can sustain involvement in the cooperation zones.

Opposition¹⁷ lawmaker Jung Byung-guk says both projects, but especially Kumgang, must be re-examined.

He says the nuclear test has made it clear that the Kumgang project is a failure.

President Roh has said the engagement policy would have to be "adjusted" - but members of his Uri Party still defend the Kumgang and Kaesong zones.

Uri lawmaker Lee Guang-chul says interaction at Kumgang has eased tensions between the North and South, and should continue.

Interaction does happen within the two zones, but is limited. At both Kaesong and Kumgang, the clean and modern South Korean-built enclaves are fenced off from North Korean villages and guarded by soldiers. Entering or photographing the villages is strictly¹⁸ forbidden. South Korean employees receive special training to avoid political chat with their Northern counterparts.

Paik Ji-hyun, an international relations scholar at Seoul National University, says the isolated¹⁹ zones should not even be thought of as North Korea - and adds, Pyongyang is unlikely to allow more of them.

"If you know the reality of North Korea, I don't think North Korea will ever allow another Kaesong or Kumgangsan," he said.

Another very symbolic²⁰ set of interactions here at Kumgang has given this location strong emotional significance for many Koreans. This has been the site of a series of tearful reunions between families separated by the 1950s Korean War.

But in the distance, a skeleton of girders shows where the construction of a permanent reunion center has been frozen by frequent disappointments in inter-Korean relations since the 2000 summit.

Under pressure after the North's nuclear test, South Korea is expected to cut off taxpayer-funded subsidies²¹ to Mount Kumgang in the near future. However, it has made no further moves to impede²² either zone's operations for now. It remains²³ to be seen how private factors will influence the zones: whether tourists will still want to book travel to Kumgang, and whether investors²⁴ will have the stomach to set up shop in Kaesong, in nuclear-armed North Korea.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

5 buttressed   

v.用扶壁支撑，加固( buttress的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court buttressed its decision. 法院支持自己的判决。 来自辞典例句
• The emotional appeal was buttressed with solid and specific policy details. 情感的感召有坚实的和详细的政策细节支持。 来自互联网

6 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

7 thawing   

n.熔化，融化v.（气候）解冻( thaw的现在分词 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化

参考例句：

• The ice is thawing. 冰在融化。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• It had been snowing and thawing and the streets were sloppy. 天一直在下雪，雪又一直在融化，街上泥泞不堪。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

9 reconciliations   

和解( reconciliation的名词复数 )； 一致； 勉强接受； （争吵等的）止息

参考例句：

• You mean long-lost mother-son reconciliations in a restaurant? 你是说在餐厅调解分开多年的母子？
• Responsible for communications with financial institutions, daily cash processing and daily and monthly cash bank reconciliations. 负责与各财务机构的沟通，了解现金日流动状况，确认与银行往来的现金日对账单和月对账单。

10 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

11 regale   

v.取悦，款待

参考例句：

• He was constantly regaled with tales of woe.别人老是给他讲些倒霉事儿来逗他开心。
• He loved to regale his friends with tales about the many memorable characters he had known as a newspaperman.他喜欢讲些他当记者时认识的许多名人的故事给朋友们消遣。

12 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

13 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

14 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

15 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

16 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

17 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

18 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

19 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

20 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

21 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

23 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。

24 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会