VOA标准英语2008年-US Envoy Confident Stalled N. Korea Denucleariz

The U.S. negotiator to six-nation talks on disarming¹ nuclear North Korea says he believes the current stalemate will be resolved before the next American president takes office. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
　
Christopher Hill

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill expressed confidence Saturday that North Korea's efforts to denuclearize would soon continue.

Pyongyang last week announced it had stopped dismantling² its main reactor³ and threatened to re-start it if Washington did not remove it from its list of "state sponsors of terrorism."

Washington has said North Korea must first agree on terms for verifying its declared list of nuclear materials.

Hill says once North Korea agrees to a system based on international standards, the isolated⁴ country would immediately be removed from the list.

"The declaration without a protocol⁵ is really like just having one chopstick," he said. "You need two chopsticks if you're going to pick up anything."

Pyongyang's turnabout last week prompted speculation⁶ that it might be stalling until the new U.S. president was in power to see if it could get a better deal than the one already negotiated.

However, Hill told reporters he believes the set-back would be resolved before the next American president took office in January.

"We have to get this verification protocol done very soon," he said. "So, yes it can be. And, I think it will be."

He made the comments after holding weekend talks in Beijing with representatives from China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, also known as the Republic of Korea, or ROK.

"We had a complete understanding with the ROK delegation⁷, complete understanding with the Japanese," said Hill. "The Russian ambassador assured me we have no daylight between us. And, China is also very much working along the same lines."

The "state sponsor of terrorism" designation prevents North Korea from getting access to much-needed international loans for its feeble economy.

The sudden demand by North Korea to be removed from the list followed recent breakthroughs in cooperation.

Pyongyang in June submitted a list of its nuclear materials, which Hill called a "very good" list, and blew up part of its main reactor.

North Korea agreed last year to give up its nuclear materials in return for aid and political incentives⁸.

 

1 disarming   

adj.消除敌意的，使人消气的v.裁军( disarm的现在分词 )；使息怒

参考例句：

• He flashed her a disarming smile. 他朝她笑了一下，让她消消气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions. 我们将同意解除军队的武装并把武器留在军事阵地。 来自辞典例句

2 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。

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 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 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。

6 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

7 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。

8 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