在线收听：

点击此处下载RM格式文件：

点击此处了解如何将RM转成MP3格式

Roh, Bush to Discuss Differences with Pyongyang in June
By Kurt Achin
Seoul
25 May 2005
 

Roh Moo-hyun
 
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is to visit President Bush at the White House next month. The two are expected to discuss the stalled talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program - but another topic will likely be the growing uneasiness between Washington and Seoul.

The flagging state of U.S.-South Korean relations was reportedly highlighted earlier this month, when a Japanese official told visiting Korean lawmakers the United States might not trust their government.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shoto Yachi was quoted as saying Tokyo was cautious about sharing North Korea-related intelligence with South Korea, because Washington - their mutual ally - did not trust Seoul.

Ambassador Lee Kyu-hyung of South Korea's Foreign Ministry says Seoul has strongly protested Mr. Yachi's remarks.

"It is not appropriate for the Japanese vice minister to mention Korean-American relations, and also our policy towards North Korea, which might cause unnecessary misunderstanding," the ambassador said.

Mr. Lee says that when the two presidents meet on June 10, Seoul hopes they will have "candid and comfortable" talks about the state of the alliance.

South Korea's approach of reconciliation and cooperation with the North differs sharply in both style and substance from the approach of Washington, where President Bush recently referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as "a dangerous man" and "a tyrant."

Leaders in Washington have also expressed confusion at President Roh's stated ambition for South Korea to become a "balancing power" in Asia - a role that seems to imply a more neutral stance between the United States and North Korea.

Whatever differences may exist, Seoul and Washington say they cannot tolerate possession of nuclear weapons by the North.

Mira Sun, a Spokeswoman for President Roh, says Pyongyang's nuclear programs will be high on the summit agenda.

Ms. Sun says the two leaders will discuss ways of resolving the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs peacefully and diplomatically.

Next month will mark one full year that Pyongyang has boycotted six-party talks on its nuclear weapons. Since abandoning the talks, North Korea has declared itself a nuclear state, and says it plans to add to an already existing nuclear arsenal - despite previous international pledges to remain free of such weapons.

South Korea's unification minister, Chung Dong-young, says getting the North back to the talks will be a priority during inter-Korean talks scheduled in Seoul next month, just days after the Washington summit.

免责声明：
牛津英语网为广大网友提供VOA和BBC等国外电台资料，目的是提高英语水平，请提高对其内容的判断能力，我们已尽全力保证资料符合《全国人大常委会关于维护互联网安全的决定》的要求，但我们不对其内容负责！