VOA标准英语2009年-S. Korea, US Concerned By North Korean Ura

North Korea has announced new progress in its nuclear weapons development, drawing expressions of regret and concern from the United States and its regional partners. A senior U.S. envoy¹ is in the region discussing a response.

South Korea vowed² a "stern and consistent" response to North Korea's declaration Friday that it is continuing to produce nuclear weapons material.

The official North Korean news agency said Pyongyang is in the final stages of a program to enrich uranium. Until this year Pyongyang had denied U.S. allegations that it enriching uranium in violation³ of previous agreements.

Moon Tae-young is a spokesman for South Korea's Foreign Ministry⁴. He says it is "regretful" that North Korea is moving "backward" in international efforts to end its nuclear weapons programs. He calls Pyongyang's activities a denial of the international community's will, which South Korea can not accept.

North Korea also said it is converting plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel into material useable in nuclear weapons.

A senior U.S. envoy on North Korea, Stephen Bosworth has been meeting with regional leaders on the North Korean nuclear issue. Before leaving Beijing en route to Seoul Friday, he said it was important for the U.S. and its partners to cooperate.

"Obviously anything that the North is doing in the area of nuclear development is of concern to us," he said. "It for all of us reconfirms the necessity to maintain a coordinated⁵ position on the need for the complete, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

Bosworth says he has no immediate⁶ plans to visit North Korea. He says Washington wants dialogue, but that Pyongyang also must return to six-nation talks on ending its nuclear programs.

"Any bilateral⁷ engagement with the North Koreans must be as a part of the six-party process," said Bosworth.

The United States, China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea have been trying for six years to convince North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons. The United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on the North after it conducted a second nuclear test in May.

Kim Yong-hyun is a North Korean studies professor at Seoul's Dongkuk University. He says the U.S. should pay attention to a line in the North Korean statement that says Pyongyang is ready for both "dialogue and sanctions."

He says that line offers a cue for the U.S. and the international community to step forward diplomatically. While the statement seems threatening, says Kim, Pyongyang's tone need not always be so threatening going forward.

Dan Pinkston, northeast Asia analyst⁸ with the International Crisis Group, says the U.S. and its partners need to evaluate how far they want to take a punitive⁹ approach toward the North.

"Where do you set the bar for relaxation¹⁰ of those sanctions? How do you walk back from that? And if there is no criteria¹¹ set, then North Korea has no incentive¹² to cooperate whatsoever," said Pinkston. "You know, if all you are going to be is sanctioned no matter what, then why cooperate at all? I mean, who would?"

Pinkston says the U.S. should come up with some kind of positive incentive to draw North Korea back to the six-nation talks.

1 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。

2 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

3 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 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。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

10 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

11 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

12 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。