VOA标准英语2009年-N. Korea Announces More Production of Nucl

By Kurt Achin
Seoul
03 November 2009

North Korea says it has manufactured more material useable in nuclear weapons.  The announcement is widely seen as a tactic¹ to pressure the United States into bilateral² talks, and comes a little more than a week before President Obama arrives in Asia.

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency announced Tuesday the country has completed reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, and has made substantial progress in turning plutonium into fuel for nuclear bombs.

The announcement comes a week before President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Northeast Asia.  North Korea experts view Pyongyang's latest rhetoric³ as a means of pressuring his administration into scheduling one-on-one talks with the North.

The Obama administration has said it is willing to hold talks with North Korea, but only if they linked to the six-nation nuclear negotiations⁴.

South Korea is expected to seek President Obama's support for what President Lee Myung-bak, calls a "grand bargain" with the North to resolve the nuclear issue in one sweeping⁵ set of negotiations.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan recently said South Korea also will work closely with the U.S. to uphold international sanctions against the North.

Yu says South Korea and related nations have learned from North Korea's broken promises in the past, and its latest nuclear activities, that soft measures alone will not change the North's attitude.

North Korea says the fuel reprocessing was completed in August at its Yongbyon nuclear facility.  North Korea disabled that facility last year as part of a six-nation agreement to end its nuclear weapons.  However, Pyongyang warned earlier this year it would resume reprocessing the reactor's spent fuel.  The North also conducted its second nuclear weapons test in May.

Pyongyang says it decided⁶ to reprocess the fuel after the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions because of the nuclear test. 

For six years, the United States, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia have tried to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs in return for diplomatic and economic benefits. Pyongyang has stalled on complying with its promises to do so, a tactic some regional experts say is meant to extract greater benefits, and some say is a sign North Korea does not intend to ever give up its nuclear bombs.

 

1 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

2 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

3 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

4 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。

5 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。