朝鲜半岛事态升级.doc

普特英语听力网免费学习英语
朝鲜半岛事态升级
North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire along their disputed frontier, raising tensions between the rivals to their highest level in more than a decade. The communist nation warned of more military strikes if the South encroaches on the maritime border by "even 0.001 millimeter."
朝鲜和韩国在一个有争议的边境上互相用炮弹攻击，此举使得双方多达十年的敌对紧张关系上升到了最高点。

朝鲜警告韩国说，如果韩国敢在此边境冒进0.001 毫米，他们就会给以军事还击。

The skirmish began Tuesday when North Korea warned the South to halt military drills near their sea border, according to South Korean officials. When Seoul refused and began firing artillery into disputed waters —but away from the North Korean shore —the North retaliated by shelling the small island of Yeonpyeong, which houses South Korean military installations and a small civilian population.
据韩国官员称，这场冲突起初始于本周星期二时，朝鲜方面针对韩国在其领海边境举行的军演问题发出了警告。

但首尔方面对此没有理睬，继续朝那片有争议的水域——但远离朝鲜的海岸开火演练，朝鲜处于报复，便发炮弹朝平壤的一个小岛进行还击，而这个小岛上有韩国的军事装置以及少数的平民。

President Barack Obama pledged that the U.S. would defend South Korea after what the White House branded a provocative, outrageous attack by North Korea on its neighbor. "South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean war," Obama said in his first comments about the North Korean shelling. "And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance."
奥巴马总统承诺美国方面会帮助捍卫韩国的安全，并称这次交火是朝鲜方带有挑衅的，粗暴性质的攻击行为。

他在双方交火后发表第一次讲话中称，“韩国是我们的盟友，我们之间的盟友关系从朝鲜战争起就开始建立了。

我们将一再坚持履行作为韩国盟友的承诺。

”
Trying to avoid any escalation in the situation, the U.S. did not reposition any of its 29,000 troops in the South. Obama, speaking to ABC News, would not speculate when asked about military options. He was expected to telephone South Korean President Lee Myung-bak late Tuesday night.
为了避免事态进一步的恶化升级，美国没有转移其29,000 支驻韩军队的驻地。

当总统奥巴马在接受ABC采访，被问及其对驻韩军队的问题时，他对此不做任何推测。

据称，奥巴马有可能星期二晚就给韩国总统李明博通过了电话。

The top U.S. military officer in South Korea, Gen. Walter Sharp, condemned North
普特英语听力网免费学习英语
Korea's "unprovoked" artillery attack in a statement Wednesday and called on the North to abide by the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
美国驻韩国的高级军官Gen. Walter Sharp在星期三的一次讲话中谴责朝鲜向韩国发起的无端炮轰，并希望朝鲜能遵守平息了1950年至1953年朝鲜战争的休战协议。

The confrontation lasted about an hour and left the uneasiest of calms, with each side threatening further bombardments.
这场持续了近一个小时的冲突最终平息了下来，但双方都威胁说接下来会有进一步的炮轰，现场气氛仍然持续紧张。

North Korea's apparent progress in its nuclear weapons program and its preparations for handing power to a new generation have plunged relations on the heavily militarized peninsula to new lows in recent weeks.
朝鲜当前的核武器计划以及权利的新老交接使得最近几周朝韩关系在这个高度军事化的半岛上降到了最低谷。

South Korea's military was put on high alert after the shelling —one of the rivals' most dramatic confrontations since an armistice halted the Korean War in 1953 and one of the few to put civilians at risk.
此次交火是自1953年朝鲜战争休战以来，两国之间最为激烈的，也是为数不多的给平民造成了威胁的一次交锋。

此次交锋之后，韩国已经把警界级别上升到了最高。

The attacks focused global attention on the tiny island and sent stock prices down worldwide.
这场冲突使得全球关注的焦点都聚集到了这个小岛上，同时全球的股价也出现了下跌。

Notes:
Plunge v. 使投入，使跳入
注：本文翻译注释原创于普特网站
普特英语听力网免费学习英语。