South Korea Calls on North to Tone Down Rhetoric
韩国指责北韩诽谤并制造紧张空气
South Korean officials have issued their first formal response to recent moves by North Korea, labeling some of the North's recent statements "inappropriate." The exchange comes as high-level American and South Korean envoys warn time is running out in diplomacy to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
韩国官员针对北韩最近的行为第一次作出正式回应，说北韩最近的某些声明“不恰当”。与此同时，美国和韩国的高级官员警告说，有关终止北韩核武器项目的外交努力所剩时间已经不多。
South Korean Major-General Kwon Oh-sung has sent a radio message to his North Korean counterpart, reassuring Pyongyang the South remains committed to a key non-aggression agreement between the two sides.
韩国少将权五淞向北韩军方发出信息，表示韩国仍然信守双方互不侵犯的主要条约。
However, the message rebukes the North for what it describes as recent "deliberate slander and fostering of tensions" which the South finds deeply regretful.
但是他也指责北韩最近的言论“故意诽谤并制造了紧张空气”，韩国对此深感遗憾。
The message comes a day after North Korea's main official newspaper lashed out at South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, calling him a "traitor" and accusing him of disrupting North-South relations.
这一信息发出的一天前，北韩主要官方报刊载文猛烈攻击韩国总统李明博，把他称为“卖国贼”，指称他破坏南北韩关系。
North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950. The two sides never formally ended the resulting war, which was halted by an armistice in 1953. Recent events have reminded the world how tense this peninsula remains.
北韩1950年入侵韩国。双方从未正式结束交战，仅以1953年签订的一项停火协议中止了这场战争。最近的事态提醒国际社会朝鲜半岛的局势仍有多紧张。
Several days ago, North Korea warned it may turn the South into a "sea of ashes." That was a response to testimony by South Korea's joint chiefs of staff chairman that Seoul has contingency plans to preemptively strike North Korean nuclear weapons sites.
几天前，北韩警告说，它可以把韩国夷为焦土。那是对韩国高级将领有关北韩核问题一番话的反应。韩国韩国参谋长联席会议主席说，首尔有向北韩核武器基地进行先发制人袭击的应变计划。
Earlier last month, North Korea expelled South Korean managers from a joint industrial park in the Northern city, Kaesong. South Korean media reports quote military officials who say South Korea has scrambled jets at least ten times since President Lee's February inauguration, to respond to North Korean warplanes approaching the North-South border.
3月上旬，北韩把韩国管理人员驱逐出北方城市开城的联合工业区。韩国新闻界报导援引军方官员的话说，自从李明博总统就任以来，韩国喷气式飞机已经紧急起飞至少10次以应对接近韩国边界的北韩战斗机。
Mr. Lee is much firmer on the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons than his predecessors. He says future North-South cooperation is dependent on Pyongyang fulfilling its promises to end those weapons programs.
李明博总统在北韩的核武器问题上比他的前任要强硬得多。他说，南北韩的未来协作取决于平壤是否兑现承诺，解除核武器项目。
The chief American envoy to the multinational nuclear talks, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, is in Seoul to discuss the North's four-month delay in providing a nuclear declaration it said would be ready by the end of last year.
朝核六方会谈中的美国首席谈判代表、助理国务卿希尔目前正在首尔访问，讨论北韩已经拖延了4个月尚未呈交的核项目清单。北韩原来答应在去年年底前交出这份清单。
Hill warns the diplomatic process is "running out of time," and that North Korea, known formally as the DPRK (Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea), must make a commitment.
希尔警告，外交努力所剩时间已经不多了，北韩务必信守承诺。
"I think the problem is the DPRK needs to make this fundamental decision," he said. "Again, I think we have made progress on the declaration but, until we complete the declaration, we won't have succeeded."
希尔说：“我认为问题在于北韩必须作出抉择。我想再次指出，我们已经在北韩报告核项目的问题上取得了进展，但是没有完整的清单，就不能说取得了成功。”
Hill dismisses recent North Korean rhetoric against the South as "entirely propagandistic" and directed "entirely at domestic audiences." He says the comments will have little impact on the multinational nuclear diplomacy.
希尔指出，最近北韩针对韩国的抨击“纯属政治宣传，而且完全是针对国内听众”。他说，有关评论对朝核六方会谈几乎没有什么影响。
