voa标准英语2008-US Expects "Difficult" Beijing Talks on North Ko

The U.S. State Department said it expects a meeting in Beijing next week on ending North Korea's nuclear program to be difficult, but that no consideration is being given to scrapping² the six-party talks. The senior U.S. delegate to the talks Friday ended a two day set of preparatory meetings in Singapore with his North Korean counterpart.
　

Christopher Hill in the lobby of his Singapore hotel after meeting with N. Korea's Kim Kye Gwan, 05 Dec 2008

Officials at the U.S. State Department said the Chinese- sponsored meeting due to begin Monday will likely be no less difficult than previous meetings on the North Korean nuclear program. But they said even though China has yet to officially announce the meeting, they do expect the six-party session to go forward as planned.

All six heads of delegations⁴ to the long-running talks are to convene⁵ in Beijing to approve a verification plan for the declaration of its nuclear holdings and activities North Korea made last June.

Approval of a verification protocol⁶ is to open the way to the final phase of the intricate agreement reached last year, under which North Korea is to eventually scrap¹ its nuclear program, including weapons, in return for energy aid and diplomatic benefits from the other parties.

The latest snag in the process involves whether disarmament inspectors⁷ can remove samples from North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex for outside analysis.

Chief U.S. delegate Christopher Hill said North Korea agreed to sampling, at least verbally, in talks in Pyongyang in July. The North Koreans later said they made no such commitment.
　

Kim Kye-Gwan speaks to reporters after meeting with U.S. nuclear negotiator Christopher Hill, 05 Dec 2008

Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian Affairs, met in Singapore with his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye-Gwan. Both said Friday they had extensive discussions on verification issues but did not indicate they had reached a final agreement.

At a news briefing here, Deputy State Department Spokesman Robert Wood said that would be the goal of the six-way meeting, which will include South Korea, Russia and Japan, along with the United States, North Korea and host China:

"Really where we are now is trying to get those understandings and assurances that the North Koreans provided Chris [Hill], in addition to those understandings on verification, to get all of this on paper and codified⁸ at the six-party heads of delegation³ meeting. So the negotiations⁹ on that will take place in Beijing and hopefully we will have a final verification protocol after that meeting," said Wood.

Both Wood and North Korean envoy¹¹ Kim in Singapore said there was no reason why the Beijing meeting should not go forward, despite the lack of an official announcement.

Wood said Assistant Secretary Hill will go to Seoul on Saturday and then on to Beijing Sunday where he will consult with the Japanese, Chinese, South Korean and Russian envoys¹² on the eve of the opening of the six-way meeting.

Their discussions will also cover a delivery schedule for heavy fuel oil committed to North Korea in return for the disablement of the Yongbyon reactor¹³ complex.

North Korea has slowed the disablement process, saying that nearly half the one million tons of fuel it has been promised has not been delivered.

Japan has refused to join other parties in providing oil, because it said Pyongyang has not fully¹⁰ accounted for Japanese citizens abducted¹⁴ by North Korea agents in the 1980's.

1 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

2 scrapping   

刮，切除坯体余泥

参考例句：

• He was always scrapping at school. 他在学校总打架。
• These two dogs are always scrapping. 这两条狗总是打架。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 delegations   

n.代表团( delegation的名词复数 )；委托，委派

参考例句：

• In the past 15 years, China has sent 280 women delegations abroad. 十五年来，中国共派280批妇女代表团出访。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The Sun Ray decision follows the federal pattern of tolerating broad delegations but insisting on safeguards. “阳光”案的判决仿效联邦容许广泛授权的做法，但又坚持保护措施。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

5 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

6 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

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 codified   

v.把（法律）编成法典( codify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the meantime, however, Kennecott had been codified elsewhere in the Act. 然而，“肯尼考特”一案已被编人法案。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Congress has since codified this holding. 从那时以来，国会编纂整理了最高法院的这一裁定。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

9 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。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 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。

12 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

13 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。

14 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。