2006年VOA标准英语-World Media Gets First Glimpse of North-So

By Kurt Achin
Kaesong, North Korea
28 February 2006
 
  
  
North and South Korea gave the international media their first up close look at a joint¹ industrial complex - hailed as the economic future of the divided peninsula.

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South Korea calls the Kaesong industrial complex a "peace project" and views it as a living laboratory for eventual³ reconciliation⁴ with the North.

In short, South Korean business funds the industrial park and North Korea provides very cheap labor². The Kaesong project, just several hundred meters from the Demilitarized Zone, was agreed to almost six years ago - the year of the historic summit between North and South Korea.

  
  
Monday's inaugural⁵ tour for foreign media began with a South Korean promotional video, spelling out that this joint venture is as much about a political vision as it is about economics.

"The Kaesong Industrial Complex, where conflicts are thawing⁶, where reconciliations⁷ are being made, and new hopes are being manufactured," explains a video.

Now 11 South Korean companies have begun operating factories in the Kaesong complex since ground was broken three years ago. They employ about 6,000 North Korean workers, mainly producing labor-intensive goods like textiles and sneakers - directed mainly at the South Korean market.

  
  
But those figures are expected to triple or quadruple in the next year. In five years, it is hoped Kaesong will employ nearly 750,000 North Koreans and occupy 67 square kilometers in the impoverished⁸ North.

South Korean authorities describe the Kaesong zone as a triumph of Seoul's engagement policy with the communist North, where Cold War mistrust is being broken down by interpersonal contact.

Kim Dong-keun, president of the South Korean Committee, which co-manages the zone, says the 489 South Koreans who work in Kaesong receive special training on interacting with North Koreans.

"You have to be cautious in approaching the North Koreans, so you have to be trained in that sense. You have to learn the unique culture here," he said.

For South Korean managers, Kaesong is considered a hardship posting, where they often go weeks without contacting their families in the South. As a result, many of them receive as much as $2,500 extra pay per month.

  
  
On this typical Kaesong sneaker factory floor, the pay is much different for the six dozen North Korean women who earn about 25 cents an hour.

That comes to less than $225 per month according to the South Koreans. All the money is paid to North Korean government labor brokers⁹ and it is not clear how much actually reaches the North Korean factory worker.

Though North Korean workers there are getting a first taste of capitalist production, they are still kept under tight control by Pyongyang. Despite firm instructions not to speak to any of the workers, many reporters cannot resist asking a quick question or two.

A woman in her 40s says she was selected by the North Korean government to work in Kaesong, but says she is not allowed to talk about her salary.

  
  
Later, another woman says she receives only enough for living expenses. Nearly all the workers are housed in the Kaesong complex in areas separated from South Koreans by fences and checkpoints.

South Korean officials say they have no monitoring mechanism¹⁰ in place to ensure the workers receive their full salary, at this point, they say, they take the North Korean government's word for it.

Until now, Seoul has only permitted the international media to view the Kaesong zone at a distance. Monday's tour for reporters coincides with efforts to push forward a free trade agreement between South Korea and the United States. Washington has indicated reluctance¹¹ to include Kaesong-produced goods in that agreement because of major disputes with North Korea over nuclear weapons.

1 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。

2 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。

3 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

4 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。

5 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

6 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

7 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。

8 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》

9 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

10 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

11 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。