2007年VOA标准英语-US Chief Negotiator Optimistic After Meetings W

By Daniel Schearf
Beijing
17 July 2007

US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, in Beijing, 17 Jul 2007

The head U.S. negotiator to six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear programs has expressed optimism after a first day of meetings with North Korean officials in Beijing. As Daniel Schearf reports from the Chinese capital, the talks are focused on a timetable for dismantling¹ North Korea's nuclear programs.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, told reporters Tuesday evening the U.S. and North Korea are "in the same ballpark" on a timetable for Pyongyang to declare and disable all its nuclear facilities.

Hill has said he would like to see North Korea declare all its nuclear materials in a matter of months and disable its facilities by the end of the year. But, he says he is flexible on whether the declaration or disablement starts first.

"You know, I don't like to get in a situation where if we don't nail down the declaration then we can't start any disablement," said Hill. "So, I want to have a little flexibility² on that."

envoy3 Christopher Hill, right, speaks to journalists after meeting with North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan, in Beijing 17 Jul 2007" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070719/0940251.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill, right, speaks to journalists after meeting with North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan, in Beijing, 17 Jul 2007

Hill was speaking after an afternoon of meetings with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Kwan ahead of six-nation talks that begin Wednesday.

Delegates from North Korea, the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia will discuss the next steps in ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs - identifying all of its nuclear facilities and dismantling them.

The declaration of nuclear facilities is likely to prove tricky⁴, as the U.S. has accused North Korea of having a secret uranium enrichment program that the North has never publicly acknowledged.

Hill says the uranium issue will have to be discussed as part of the declaration.

"It has to be dealt with," he added. "You know, when you have a declaration it can't be a partial declaration. Yeah, it has to be dealt with and we'll have a conversation about that."

Pyongyang promised in February to dismantle⁵ all its nuclear programs in return for aid, security guarantees, and normalized relations with the U.S. and Japan. The first step of shutting down its nuclear reactor⁶ was delayed over a financial dispute that was only recently resolved.

International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors⁷ have confirmed that North Korea has shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, giving new momentum⁸ to the talks.

Once the facilities are dismantled⁹, foreign ministers from all six nations will meet for the first time. Hill says that this week the delegates will discuss possible dates for that historic meeting.

1 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

2 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

3 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。

4 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

5 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

6 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

7 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 dismantled   

拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消

参考例句：

• The plant was dismantled of all its equipment and furniture. 这家工厂的设备和家具全被拆除了。
• The Japanese empire was quickly dismantled. 日本帝国很快被打垮了。