2007年VOA标准英语-Envoys to Discuss Detailed Revelation of N. Kor

By Daniel Schearf
Beijing
13 August 2007

U.S. and North Korean diplomats¹ are meeting in Beijing to discuss North Korea's agreement to declare and dismantle² all of its nuclear programs.  Daniel Schearf reports from the Chinese capital.

Christopher Hill, right, briefs reporters in a hotel in Beijing, 13 Aug 2007

Washington's chief negotiator at the North Korean nuclear disarmament talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, arrived in Beijing Monday for talks with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-Kwan. 

At the top of the agenda for their Monday meeting is the next stage of a denuclearization agreement reached in February.  The agreement calls for North Korea to provide details of all its nuclear programs, and eventually to dismantle them. 

Hill says he hopes to have Pyongyang's list by late August or early September, when negotiators are scheduled to meet for the next round of six-nation talks.

"We want a clear idea on what's involved in disablement, what's involved in the declaration, so that when we have our meeting, the six-party meeting…we can make real progress," Hill said.

That could prove tricky³.  Washington says that in addition to a weapons program based on plutonium, which Pyongyang acknowledges, the North also has a secret program to enrich uranium.

Pyongyang has denied in the past that the uranium program exists.  Hill says the parties to the talks expect a definitive⁴ answer this time.

"We have to have clarity on that issue," said Hill.  "We have to have a resolution of that issue.  So, obviously it's very much a part of any declaration that's finally submitted."

The talks will not focus only on what the U.S. and other parties to the talks want.  North Korea expects concessions⁵ in return.

It agreed in February to declare and dismantle all its nuclear programs in exchange for aid, security guarantees, and political incentives⁶.  It has already shut down its main nuclear facility.

In return, it has begun receiving shipments of food, fertilizer and fuel oil.  But Pyongyang says it wants at least two light-water nuclear reactors⁷ if it gives up its nuclear programs altogether.

The North is also likely to want more than that.  North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is scheduled to meet South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in Pyongyang at the end of August.  Chung Dong-young, South Korea's former unification minister, said in Seoul Monday that Mr. Kim's main concern is security.

"For chairman Kim and for the North Korean regime, their objective is their [own] survival, and secondly⁸, their economic survival," Chung said.

Chung says he believes Mr. Kim will use the summit to try to secure these guarantees.  But such assurances could not be given by South Korea alone.  They would require input⁹ from all six nations involved in the nuclear negotiations¹⁰, which also include the U.S., Korea, China, Japan and Russia.

Hill and Kim Kye-Kwan are due to continue their discussions during two days of working group meetings beginning Thursday in China's northeastern city of Shenyang.

1 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》

2 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。

3 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。

4 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

5 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

8 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

9 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

10 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。