2007年VOA标准英语-N. Korean Nuclear Diplomacy Now in the Hands of

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
26 July 2007

Diplomatic efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs are, for now, in the hands of technical experts. The working groups, as they are known, will spend next month sifting¹ through details and definitions so they can propose the next steps in the negotiations². VOA Seoul correspondent Kurt Achin looks at their main challenges.

Christopher Hill in Beijing, 19 Jul 2007

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill says dismantling³ nuclear weapons programs and structuring energy deals is complicated business - and that it is time to bring in the specialists.

"You know, we're a bunch of diplomats⁴, ambassadors, who are talking about a subject that not all of us have worked on that much in our careers," he said.

Hill is the main U.S. delegate to six-nation talks aimed at eliminating North Korea's nuclear arms capabilities⁵. He met in Beijing with counterparts from North and South Korea, China, Russia, and Japan earlier this month, soon after Pyongyang shut down its main nuclear reactor⁶ in Yongbyon.

That shutdown fulfilled the first phase of a February agreement. The next phase requires North Korea to declare all its nuclear programs, as a step toward completely disabling them in exchange for energy aid. To that end, experts have been assigned to provide a list of steps to be taken, as well as definitions of key concepts.

The February agreement is the result of nearly four years of international effort to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. Although in the past Pyongyang has pledged to not develop nuclear bombs, in 2002, U.S. officials said the country was secretly trying to build them.

That led to a series of sanctions and several rounds of talks with North Korea. Despite the diplomatic push, last year North Korea tested its first nuclear explosion.

Lee Eun-chol, a nuclear engineering specialist at Seoul National University, says that determining what should be in the North Korean nuclear declaration is in itself a demanding technical chore.

Lee says North Korea has responded to previous International Atomic Energy Agency requests for information by submitting lists of facilities with little or no relevance⁷ to nuclear weapons.

He also notes that nuclear inspectors⁸ have had to put together their own database of information obtained in other ways. And Lee adds that Pyongyang probably will try to protect some of its more sensitive facilities.

North Korea's spent nuclear fuel rods, which are kept in cooling pond, are seen at nuclear facilities in Yongbyon (file photo)

Lee and other experts say the working groups could help ensure that Pyongyang permanently⁹ disables its nuclear facilities by drawing up plans that provide alternative work for North Korean nuclear engineers.

One working group will study the other side of the February agreement. If it cooperates in the second phase, impoverished¹⁰ North Korea is to receive 950,000 tons of fuel oil or other energy aid of equal value.

Negotiators say providing only fuel oil would not only fail to serve the North's long-term interests, but could also allow Pyongyang to stall on future commitments. If North Korea is assured of an oil supply, it has little incentive¹¹ to move forward on disarmament until the oil runs out.

As a result, U.S. Ambassador Hill says the U.S. and its partners will provide a variety of aid that meets the North's overall needs.

 

"Option A might be additional storage capacity [for fuel], option B might be a [power plant] refurbishment, option C might be the provision of electricity from a neighboring country - something like that. But we need the experts to kind of look at this," said Hill.

 

Tim Savage¹² is an analyst¹³ with the Nautilus Institute, which researches energy and security issues related to North Korea. He says a diversified¹⁴ package of energy aid would most benefit the country.

 

"North Korea's energy shortage goes well beyond simple fuel shortages," he said. "What you have is essentially¹⁵ a dilapidation¹⁶ of the entire energy system, from the mining of coal to the power plants, to the transmission lines, down to the end-use equipment."

The working groups are expected to meet until late August or early September. Delegates from the six nations hope to reconvene in September, once they have studied the groups' recommendations.

1 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

3 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。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

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 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

8 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》

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

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 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

12 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

13 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

14 diversified   

adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲，多种经营，全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

16 dilapidation   

n.倒塌；毁坏

参考例句：

• Yet all this was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation.特别破落的样子倒也找不出。
• The farmhouse had fallen into a state of dilapidation.农舍落到了破败的境地。