VOA标准英语2009年-North Korea Threatens to Open Fire in

North Korea has warned South Korean military and fishing boats to stay clear of a disputed maritime¹ area, or risk being fired on.

Kurt Achin | Seoul 21 December 2009

 
Photo: AP
S. Korean fishing boat passes by South Korean Navy's floating base near western Yeonpyong Island, near disputed sea border with North Korea (file)

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency Monday said the move is a response to what the North calls "frequent intrusions by warmongers² in the South Korean military."

North Korea has refused for decades to accept a maritime border known as the Northern Limit Line, mandated³ by the United Nations after a 1953 armistice⁴ halted fighting in the Korean War.  North and South Korea fought two deadly naval⁵ battles in the area in 1999 and 2002, and the South badly damaged a North Korean ship in an exchange of fire there last month.

South Korea denies ever crossing into the North's side of the line.  Seoul says every clash between the two sides has resulted from North Korean incursions into the South's waters.

Military experts here say under President Lee Myung-bak, South Korea has made its naval rules of engagement more robust⁶, allowing ships to fire back at shore-based North Korean positions that fire on them first.

Yang Moo-jin is a North Korea scholar at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies.  He says Monday's announcement is an attempt to put political pressure on South Korea and the United States.

He says North Korea is accentuating⁷ the instability of the Korean peninsula in a state of truce⁸.  He says the North is trying to convey to the U.S. and the international community the urgency of sealing a permanent peace treaty.

The prospect⁹ of such a treaty is written into a September 2005 agreement signed by North Korea.  It says South Korea and the United States will work toward a peace treaty with the North gradually, as the North takes steps to get rid of its nuclear weapons.  Pyongyang conducted its second nuclear weapons test earlier this year and has refused to return to talks on the issue.
 

1 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

2 warmongers   

n.战争贩子( warmonger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The speech hits out at warmongers. 演讲猛烈地抨击了战争贩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The imperialist warmongers stand condemned by the people of the whole world. 帝国主义的战争贩子受到全世界人民的谴责。 来自互联网

3 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

4 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

6 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

7 accentuating   

v.重读( accentuate的现在分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于

参考例句：

• Elegant interior design accentuating the unique feeling of space. 优雅的室内设计突显了独特的空间感。 来自互联网
• Accentuating the positive is an article of faith here. 强调积极面在这里已变成一种信仰。 来自互联网

8 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

9 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。