VOA标准英语2008年-US Expects North Korean Nuclear Declaration Thu

U.S. officials say they expect North Korea to make its long-delayed declaration about its nuclear program on Thursday, and if it does the Bush administration is ready to begin dropping sanctions against Pyongyang. A senior State Department official is heading to North Korea for the demolition¹, expected Friday, of a key element of the country's Yongbyon nuclear site. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
　
External view of the Yongbyon nuclear power plant in North Korea (File)

Officials in Washington say they are taking nothing for granted, given the delays that have put the six-party Korean disarmament deal several months behind schedule.

But they say all indications are that North Korea will submit the declaration to the Chinese sponsors of the talks sometime Thursday, and that the United States is prepared to immediately begin reciprocal steps if that occurs.

North Korea agreed in a deal finalized² last year to end its nuclear program in exchange for aid and diplomatic benefits from the other parties to the talks.

North Korea has shut down and is in the process of disabling the Yongbyon reactor³ complex that produced the plutonium for the nuclear weapon it tested in 2006.

The declaration, in which Pyongyang is to list all its nuclear holdings and activities, was due at the end of last year and is to open the way to the next phase of the accord.

In a talk with reporters, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said the Bush administration is ready - once the declaration is submitted - to fulfill⁵ its side of the deal.

That means dropping long-standing trade sanctions against North Korea under the 1917 Trading-With-The-Enemy Act, and informing Congress of its intention to remove that country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Casey stressed that in the 45-day period before North Korea is dropped from the terrorism list, the United States and other parties to the accord will put in place a mechanism⁶ to verify the facts of the nuclear declaration.

The spokesman, acknowledging skepticism about the deal among some members of Congress, stressed that North Korea will not reap the full benefits of the agreement unless it keeps its commitment to completely scrap⁷ its nuclear program.

"Frankly⁸ the net effect of the removal of North Korea from the terrorism list, and the Trading-With-The-Enemy Act, is actually quite minimal⁹. So again, I think we are proceeding¹⁰ in a cautious manner. We are proceeding in a manner that we believe appropriate, that responds action-for-action and good-faith actions for good-faith actions by the North Koreans," he said.

North Korea is expected to underscore its commitment to the six-party deal on Friday by demolishing¹¹, with explosive charges, the massive cooling tower of the Yongbyon reactor.
　
Sung Kim, director of the Office of Korean Affairs, shows reporters at the State Department in Washington documents he brought back from North Korea, 13 May 2008

Casey said State Department Korean Affairs Director Sung Kim will attend the event, expected to be broadcast live, along with representatives of the other parties to the accord, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea.

He said Kim will also hold talks with North Korean officials on verifying the declaration.

The six-party accord is to lead eventually to normalized relations between North Korea and both the United States and Japan.

The White House says President Bush spoke⁴ by telephone Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to stress U.S. understanding of Japanese concern about North Korean abductions of Japanese nationals.

More than a dozen Japanese are believed to have been abducted¹² by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s and Pyongyang has still not accounted for all of them.

Japan had voiced opposition¹³ to removing North Korea from the U.S. terrorism list until the abduction issue is fully¹⁴ resolved.

Bush administration officials say they raise the matter at every opportunity with the North Koreans, and it must be resolved to the satisfaction of Japan before the six-party deal comes to a final conclusion.

 

1 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

2 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 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。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 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。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

10 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

11 demolishing   

v.摧毁( demolish的现在分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings. 这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。 来自《用法词典》
• Conventional demolishing work would have caused considerable interruptions in traffic. 如果采用一般的拆除方法就要引起交通的严重中断。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 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。