South Korea offers talks with North

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea rejected a proposal to resume stalled reconciliation talks with South Korea, while Seoul denounced the communist regime Sunday for the shooting death of a tourist that heightened tension between the divided nations.

North Korea's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said in a commentary that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's proposal to restart bilateral talks was not even worth considering. It called Lee's proposal a "deceitful" tactic to avoid taking responsibility for strained ties.

The snub was another sign of strained relations between the Koreas, which intensified after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist Friday at a northern mountain resort.

South Korea has criticized the North for killing an innocent civilian, demanding that investigators from the South be allowed to probe the case. "If an investigation into this tragic incident is not made, that will throw a cold blanket over all the people's expectations for progress in South-North relations," South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement. The ministry is responsible for ties with North Korea.

The South Korean government suspended tours to the resort pending an inquiry.

However, the North has refused to cooperate in any investigation, saying the 53-year-old housewife ignored a soldier's warning and tried to flee. The North's tourism authorities demanded South Korea apologize for halting tours.

Unification Minister Kim Ho-nyeon said Sunday that there were many unanswered questions about the shooting, such as how the middle-aged victim was able to cover a distance of 2 miles (3.3 kilometers) within 20 minutes walking on a beach.

All 350 South Korean tourists at the resort returned home Sunday afternoon, according to Hyundai Asan, the tour company. Still, some 1,300 officials and shopkeepers remained in the tourist enclave because it was unclear how long the tour will be suspended, said Hyundai Asan spokeswoman Jang Young-ran.

Tensions between the Koreas have flared since Lee, a pro-U.S. conservative, took office in February. His government has criticized human rights abuses in North Korea and has been skeptical of offering unconditional aid to the impoverished country, a sharp departure from the previous decade of liberal South Korean leaders.

Lee, however, said in a speech to parliament Friday that his government was willing to consult on how to implement accords that his predecessors reached with communist leader Kim Jong II at summits in 2000 and 2007. Lee had earlier said he would review the accords to determine whether they are worth implementing.

The North countered Sunday that no more talks were necessary to carry out the summit agreements.

Lee "is attempting to avoid taking responsibility for worsened North-South relations and mislead public opinion to resolve a crisis with deceitful remarks," it said. "With that shallow-minded tactic, he cannot hide his ugly identity as an anti-unification, fratricidal confrontational person and (his remarks) will only prompt rising national fury and disillusion."

Lee's office said it had no immediate plans to respond to the North's comments.

09/06/2008, CNN

8. Answer the questions:

1. What proposal was rejected by the government of North Korea?

2. What was reported by North Korea’s main newspaper about South Korean President’s proposal to restart bilateral talks between the two parties?

3. What incident intensified strained relations between the Koreas?

4. What was North Korea accused of by South Korea?

5. What did the South Korean government suspend after North Korea had refused to cooperate in any investigation of that case?

6. Since when and why have tensions between the Koreas escalated?

7. Were South Korea and North Korea ready to make concessions in order to ease tensions existing between them and reach a consensus on disputable issues?

 

Turn to current press material. Find an article on the topic “Conflicts” in a current Russian newspaper and render it into English using active vocabulary. Prepare questions on the article for discussion.

 

UNIT IV

MILITARY ACTIVITIES, HOSTILITIES,

TERRORISM

1.Active vocabulary: words and word combinations:

1. rival (adversary, enemy, foe) – соперник, противник, конкурент

rival – конкурирующий

rivalry – соперничество, противостояние, конкуренция

2. ally – союзник

to ally with – вступать в союз с

alliance – союз

 

3. armed forces – вооруженные силы

 

4. conventional forces – силы общего назначения

 

5. arms race – гонка вооружений

 

6. strategic arms cuts – сокращение стратегического вооружения

 

7. disarmament – разоружение

 

8. weapon – оружие

conventional weapon - обычное оружие

nuclear weapon – ядерное оружие

NBC (Nuclear, Bacteriological and Chemical) weapons – ядерное, бактериологическое и химическое оружие

WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) – оружие массового поражения

offensive and defensive advanced weaponry – современное наступательное и оборонительное вооружение

proliferation of weapons – распространение оружия

acquisition of weapons – приобретение оружия

unauthorized use of nuclear weapons – несанкционированное применение ядерного оружия

 

9. nuclear warheads – ядерные боеголовки

 

10. uranium enrichment programme – программа по обогащению урана

 

11. to test nuclear weapons (to conduct a nuclear-weapon test) – проводить испытания ядерного оружия

 

12. to halt tests – останавливать испытания

 

13. to ban (prohibit) the use of nuclear weapons – запретить использование ядерного оружия

 

14. an abolition – упразднение, отмена, ликвидация, уничтожение

abolition of nuclear weapons – ликвидация, уничтожение ядерного оружия

to abolish (to annihilate) – упразднять, уничтожать

 

15. the nuclear-weapon states (powers)– государства, обладающие ядерным оружием

16. “rouge” states – государства-изгои

 

17. transfer of armaments – поставка оружия

 

18. a supplying country – страна-поставщик

a recipient country – страна-получатель

 

19. missile – ракета

a cruise missile – крылатая ракета

a ballistic missile – баллистическая ракета

interceptor missiles – ракеты-перехватчики

 

20. antiballistic missile defence – противоракетная оборона (ПРО)

antiballistic missile defence system (shield) - система противоракетной обороны

to build, place (establish, station), install an antiballistic missile defence system (shield)– построить, разместить, установить систему противоракетной обороны

ABM Treaty – Договор по ПРО

 

21. a launch site – площадка для запуска ракет

 

22. to deploy – развертывать, применять, приводить в действие

deployment – размещение, развертывание

to deploy missiles – развертывать ракеты

to install missiles – устанавливать ракеты

 

23. war – война

full-scale war – полномасштабная война

all-out war – всеобщая война

civil war – гражданская война

on the brink of war – на гране войны

to wage the war – вести войну

warring parties – воюющие стороны

prisoners of war – военнопленные

 

24. to launch an attack – подвергнуть нападению

 

25. to pose a threat to – представлять угрозу

 

26. to jeopardize (endanger) – подвергать риску

 

27. to deter and defend against any threat of aggression – сдерживать и защищаться от любой угрозы агрессии

 

28. to fight (struggle) against smb. or smth. – бороться против кого-либо, чего-либо (с кем-либо,чем-либо)

to fight for smb. or smth. - бороться за кого-либо, что-либо

 

29. fighting - бои

 

30. hostilities - боевые действия

cessation of hostilities – прекращение боевых действий

ceasefire – прекращение огня

 

31. violence – насилие

an outbreak of violence – вспышка насилия

 

32. atrocities – зверства

 

33. massacres – массовые истребления (людей)

 

34. bloodshed – кровопролитие

 

35. military takeover – захват власти военными

 

36. civilian casualties (losses) – потери (гибели) среди мирного населения

 

37. the injured (the wounded) – раненные

 

38. a refugee – беженец

39. to flee (fled, fled) – покидать дома

 

40. truce – перемирие

 

41. a terrorist act – террористический акт

 

42. a terror group (cell) – террористическая группа (ячейка)

 

43. a militant – боевик

 

44. a suicide bomber – террорист-смертник

a suicide bombing – атака террориста смертника

 

45. a perpetrator of a terrorist attack – исполнитель террористической атаки

 

46. a blast (explosion) – взрыв

 

47. to claim responsibility for – взять на себя ответственность за

 

48. hostage-taking – захват заложников

 

2. Translate into Russian using active vocabulary:

1) Without a new multilateral effort, the risk of a new nuclear arms race and of rogue states and terrorist organizations getting their hands on nuclear material could bring the world back to the brink of nuclear war.

2) Nuclear disarmament is one of the most important issues of our time. As long as the United States and Russia between them have more than 11,000 nuclear warheads deployed, they have little credibility to persuade unrecognized nuclear weapons states like Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea to scrap their arsenals, and perhaps even less to get Iran to trade in its enrichment program for any form of economic or other incentives.

3) Under Article 6 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the five declared nuclear powers on the United Nations Security Council are committed to phasing out their arsenals.

4) Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov criticized U.S. plans for a missile defense system with element in Eastern Europe to protect against the threat posed by Iran, saying the system “has little in common with its declared goal.” Instead, he said, it is the “advancement of the strategic structure of the American system in Eastern Europe.”

5) The U.S. plan would install a radar base in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland — both former Soviet satellites that are now NATO members. It is part of a wider missile shield involving defenses in California and Alaska which the United States says are to defend against any long-range missile attack from countries such as North Korea or Iran.

Russia strongly opposes the idea, saying Iran is decades away from developing missile technology that could threaten Europe or North America, and it says the U.S. bases will undermine Russia's own missile deterrent force.

6) Russia threatened to deploy rockets in the European Union’s backyard yesterday in retaliation for American plans to install a missile defence shield. The US wants to place ten interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic to counter possible rocket attacks from “rogue states” such as Iran. Russia has denounced the plan as a threat to its own security.

7) The last time the leaders met, when Mr Blair was on a state visit to Moscow in April, Mr Putin rebuffed his attempts at reconciliation by refusing to lift UN sanctions and mocking the possibility that weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq.

8) Tehran’s test launches of medium-range ballistic missiles l ast week were seen in Washington as provocative and poorly judged, but both the Pentagon and the CIA concluded that they did not represent an immediate threat of attack against Israeli or US targets.

9) Iran has repeatedly insisted it will not give up enrichment, but it had said the incentives package had some "common ground" with Tehran's own proposals for a resolution to the standoff. Oil-rich Iran insists its enrichment work is intended to produce fuel for nuclear reactors that would generate electricity. The six nations — the U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany — first offered a package of economic, technological and political incentives to Tehran nearly two years ago on condition that it suspend enrichment. The standoff has led to increasingly tense exchanges about the possibility of a military strike by Israel or the U.S. An Israeli military exercise last month was seen as a warning to Iran.

10) The United States Friday called upon Macedonia's Slavs and ethnic Albanians to "cease fighting and focus on a political solution" to the violent conflict between Albanian extremists and government forces.

11) Monitoring the situation in Sderot, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed cautious optimism."We hope the truce will be kept by all parties. Yesterday, that barrage of 30 Qassams... just before the cease-fire went into force shows that they decided to kill as many Israelis as possible before the cease-fire." There were no casualties as a result of the rocket strikes. Just an hour before the truce went into effect, an Israeli airstrike aimed at militants near the El Brag camp in the middle of Gaza killed one and injured three, Palestinian security and hospital sources said.

12) By agreeing to deal with Hamas through Egyptian mediators, Israel appears to be bending its policy of refusing to deal with Hamas, which does not recognize Israel and refuses to renounce terrorism. Several Israeli newspapers were critical of the cease-fire, saying it amounted to a political victory for Hamas. Shiron dismissed that assessment. “We have not dealt with Hamas, we spoke to the Egyptians," the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "The idea is to prevent bloodshed, and prevent Israeli citizens and Palestinians alike from getting hurt. And if this can be achieved, then I think this is good for everybody."

13) Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of army recruits in the city of Baqouba on Tuesday, killing at least 28 people, Iraqi police said. At least 47 recruits were injured in the blast at the Saad military camp in Baqouba, the official said. The U.S. military confirmed the attack, saying it occurred around 8 a.m. on July 15, 2008.

14) The US launched a military air strike in Somalia to go after a group of terrorist suspects, defence officials said today. Somali police said three missiles hit a Somali town held by Islamic extremists, destroying a home and seriously injuring eight people early today.

15) Germany said yesterday it had arrested three Islamic militants suspected of planning "imminent" and "massive" bomb attacks on Frankfurt's international airport and a nearby US military base, preventing what would have been the most devastating terrorist attack on an American target since 11 September 2001. Since the start of this year, Chancellor Merkel's government has repeatedly warned that Germany faces the real threat of a terror attack.

16) In 2001, Islamist attacks were still a novelty in the US and the UK though not in France, which was one of the first European countries to recognize the threat posed by political Islam. Now we are growing used not just to the existence of an Islamist terror network in Britain, consisting both of young men who were born here and others from Pakistan and the Middle East, but of the inchoate rage which fuels it.

17) It was an attack everyone had warned was inevitable, a matter of time. That did not make the moment any less dreadful, however, or the task of catching the perpetrators any easier. By general consent the response of the emergency services to the wave of bombings that shattered London's Thursday morning rush hour could scarcely have been better. There are also fears that any future attack could involve attempts to detonate a "dirty" bomb - one contaminated with nuclear waste, which might not cause widespread casualties but could shut off a large area of London, disrupting the life of the city far more than Thursday's atrocity.

18) The major line of investigation is that the bombings were carried out by an alliance of terrorists formed specifically for this operation, perhaps using the name Secret Organisation Group of al-Qaida of Jihad Organisation in Europe, the first to claim responsibility.

19) The second stage of the German plan would involve the return of up to 250,000 Georgian refugees to Abkhazia. They fled in the early 1990s during the Soviet Union's breakup, which turned extremely violent in this part of its former empire.This stage would be followed by a donors' conference to finance the reconstruction of infrastructure and housing and promote business contacts between Georgia and Abkhazia.

20) After years of escalating tensions and bloodshed, the talk in the Middle East is suddenly about talking. The shift is still relatively subtle, but hints of a new approach in the waning months of the Bush administration are fueling hopes of at least short-term stability for the first time since the invasion of Iraq in 2003.Much is happening, adding up not to any great diplomatic breakthrough, but to a distinct change in direction. Syria is being welcomed out of isolation by Europe and is holding indirect talkswith Israel. Lebanon has formed a new government. Israel has cut deals with Hamas (a cease-fire) and Hezbollah (a prisoner exchange).

21) Unless Iran responds positively in the next two weeks, it can expect more sanctions to be imposed by the United States and the European Union as early as late August or September and may then be hit with a fourth sanctions resolution at the U.N. Security Council, Rice said. The offer envisions a six-week commitment from Iran to stop expanding uranium enrichment, during which time no additional sanctions would be imposed. That is intended to create the framework for formal negotiations that, it is hoped, will lead to a permanent halt of enrichment.

3. Translate the following article into Russian using active vocabulary: