2006年VOA标准英语-South Korea Hopes for Peace 'Regime' to Br

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
15 March 2006

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun    
  
The Korean War of 1950-53 never formally ended. Fighting was halted by a temporary armistice¹ that remains² in effect today, dividing North and South Korea with the world's most heavily armed border. The leaders of South Korea and the United States, however, have said they hope to replace the armistice with a more permanent peace - but experts say that will not happen while Pyongyang builds nuclear arms.

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More than half a century after North Korean forces blitzed across the 38th parallel into South Korea, the South's President Roh Moo-hyun wants to put hostilities³ in the past once and for all.

Mr. Roh and President Bush have said they want to strive for a new peace regime to replace the 1953 armistice that halted the Korean War.

But there are considerable roadblocks to that goal, including decades-old legal issues. The biggest obstacle may be North Korea's nuclear weapon programs. Many experts in Seoul and Washington say that unless the North gives up its nuclear ambitions, there will be no new terms. And, after three years of negotiations⁴, frequently delayed by Pyongyang, there has been no progress on the issue.

Officials in South Korea are careful to use the phrase "peace regime" rather than "peace treaty" when talking about replacing the armistice. Lee Jang-hie, president of the South Korean branch of the International Law Association, says it is difficult to apply a treaty, as it is usually understood under international law, to the Korean War.

"In this war there is no victory state. No defeated state. The character of the Korean war is quite different from a normal war," he noted⁵.

Lee says North Korea has been unwilling⁶ to discuss legal topics associated with a treaty - such as war crimes and compensation.

Other legal ambiguities⁷ have muddled⁸ efforts to replace the 1953 armistice, which only North Korea and the United States signed.

The United States signed on behalf of the United Nations Command - a military coalition⁹ of 16 countries. Neither China nor Russia formally acknowledged their participation¹⁰ in the war. South Korea's then-president, Rhee Syngman, refused to back any agreement that left the Korean peninsula divided.

North Korea maintains that only it and the United States can structure the terms of a final peace.

The United States says a deal should, at the very least, include South Korea, and preferably also China and Russia.

Lee supports what he calls a "two plus two" political solution. He says it must begin as a process of building trust between the two Koreas - and only later include other countries.

"We should declare in front of the world and our nation, we have terminated the Korean War. And then this document should be endorsed¹¹ at least by China and the United States," Lee said.

American lawyer Patrick Norton studied the legal aspects of replacing the armistice for the U.S. State Department. He says the two Koreas first need to find ways to live with each other.

"The important thing is to find a political solution, and not have the political solution dragged around by legal technicalities or old historic issues," Norton said.
 
The South already is trying to reshape the relationship with its impoverished¹², Stalinist neighbor, a relationship that for decades after the war was one of hostility¹³.

That changed dramatically in 2000, when former South Korea President Kim Dae-jung held a historic summit in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

South Korea, a democracy and economic powerhouse, has sought to build on the good will of that summit by expanding economic and cultural contacts with the North. Park Chan-bong, a deputy assistant minister at Seoul's Ministry¹⁴ of Unification, says a new North-South relationship is being fostered.

"A more stable, more lasting¹⁵ relationship that is more secure and more peaceful - formed in the process of pursuing unification," he said.

Park says a peace regime will come about when this new North-South relationship matures.  However, he warns the relationship will not progress while North Korea maintains its nuclear weapons programs.

"For the countries to talk more about establishing peace on the Korean peninsula, we have to see some progress in terms of the North Korean nuclear resolution," Park said.

The North's weapons programs violate several international pledges it made to not develop nuclear bombs. Five rounds of talks with China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States have done little to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions.

That means, many experts say, that no matter what the South Korean officials say and do to improve relations with Pyongyang, there is little chance of a formal change to peace terms any time soon.

1 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

2 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。

3 hostilities   

n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事

参考例句：

• Mexico called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. 墨西哥要求立即停止敌对行动。
• All the old hostilities resurfaced when they met again. 他们再次碰面时，过去的种种敌意又都冒了出来。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

7 ambiguities   

n.歧义( ambiguity的名词复数 )；意义不明确；模棱两可的意思；模棱两可的话

参考例句：

• His reply was full of ambiguities. 他的答复非常暧昧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Fortunately, no ambiguities hang about this word or about its opposite, indeterminism. 值得庆幸的是，关于这个词和它的反义词，非决定论都不存在多种解释。 来自哲学部分

8 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

10 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

11 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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》

13 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

14 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。

15 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。