VOA慢速英語：朝韓官員出席鐵路對接項目啟動儀式

North, South Korean Officials Celebrate Joint Railway Project

朝韓官員出席鐵路對接項目啟動儀式

North and South Korea have held a ceremony to mark the beginning of a project to improve North Korea's railways and connect them with the South.

朝韓兩國舉行了一項儀式，這標志著改造朝鮮鐵路并與韓國對接的工程啟動。

Each side sent representatives to the ceremony, in the border town of Kaesong.

朝韓雙方派代表出席了在邊境小鎮(zhèn)開城舉行的儀式。

Last month, the two Koreas carried out a joint inspection of parts of the North's railway system, which they hope to connect someday with the South. The goal is to link the countries' railroads and thereby increase economic ties.

上個月，兩國對朝鮮部分鐵路系統(tǒng)進行了聯(lián)合考察，希望有朝一日將這部分鐵路同韓國對接，目的是連接兩國的鐵路從而增加經(jīng)濟聯(lián)系。

The move is one of several efforts agreed to by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in.

此舉是朝鮮領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人金正恩和韓國總統(tǒng)文在寅達成一致的幾項舉措之一。

Progress linked to nuclear talks

進展跟核談判相關(guān)

Any progress on the project, however, will require changes to United States-led economic actions against North Korea. They are designed to punish the North Korean government for its nuclear activities.

然而該項目的任何進展都需要改變美國主導(dǎo)的對朝鮮的經(jīng)濟制裁。這些制裁旨在懲罰朝鮮政府的核活動。

The railway inspection had been delayed for months because of concerns about United Nations sanctions on the North. The U.N. Security Council gave the two Koreas special permission for the study.

由于擔心聯(lián)合國對朝鮮的制裁，鐵路考察已經(jīng)推遲了數(shù)月。聯(lián)合國安理會特別批準了朝韓兩國進行這項考察。

North Korea has voiced displeasure with the slow progress on projects aimed at building ties between the two sides. South Korea hopes to carry out additional inspections before further details of the project are released. Work depends on progress in nuclear talks with the North.

朝鮮對旨在建立朝韓雙方關(guān)系的項目進展緩慢表示不滿。韓國希望在進一步細節(jié)公布之前進行額外考察，這項工作取決于同朝鮮核談判的進展。

The United States and its allies have called for restrictions to remain in place until North Korea takes clear steps toward giving up its nuclear weapons and missiles.

美國及其盟友呼吁在朝鮮采取明確步驟放棄核武器和導(dǎo)彈之前要繼續(xù)實施制裁。

For the ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday, a South Korean train traveled to Kaesong. It was carrying about 100 people, including government officials and lawmakers. Members of families displaced by the Korean War in the early 1950s also were on the train.

在周三舉行的奠基儀式上，一輛韓國火車駛往開城，車上載有100人左右，包括政府官員和議員。20世紀50年代初朝鮮戰(zhàn)爭的離散家屬也在這趟火車上。

South Korea's unification ministry reported that officials from the United Nations, China, Russia and Mongolia joined the North Korean delegation.

韓國統(tǒng)一部報道稱，聯(lián)合國、中國、俄羅斯和蒙古的官員加入了朝鮮代表團的行列。

After the event, North and South Korea agreed to carry out additional railway inspections. Both Koreas said they would work closely with the United States and the U.N. to gain support for the project and deal with concerns over sanctions.

儀式之后，朝韓雙方同意進行額外鐵路考察。兩國表示將與美國及聯(lián)合國密切合作，以獲得對該項目的支持，并解決對制裁的擔憂。

Lee Eugene, a spokeswoman for the unification ministry, spoke with reporters. "We plan to hold detailed negotiations with the North to coordinate the specific levels we want to achieve in the modernization of railways and roads and how to carry out the project," she said.

韓國統(tǒng)一部發(fā)言人李尤金(Lee Eugene)同記者進行了交流。他說：“我們計劃同朝鮮進行具體商談，就我們實現(xiàn)鐵路和公路現(xiàn)代化具體程度以及如何實施該項目進行協(xié)調(diào)。”

However, experts say investment in the project could take time even with steps toward nuclear weapons removal and easing of restrictions.

然而專家表示，即使采取了廢除核武器和放松制裁的措施，對該項目的投資也需要時間。

Jung Dae-jin is a professor with the Ajou Institute of Unification in South Korea. He noted that the project would increase exchanges between the two governments.

Jung Dae-jin是韓國亞洲統(tǒng)一研究所的教授。他指出，該項目將會提升兩國政府之間的交流。

But he said the future of Moon's plans for connecting the railways rests with North Korea.

但他表示文在寅對接兩國鐵路的計劃的未來取決于朝鮮。

"We need to see the New Year's address by Kim Jong Un," Jung said. He added that the global community needs to see measures taken by the North toward removing nuclear weapons for progress on railways to go forward.

他說：“我們還得看金正恩的新年致辭。”他補充說，國際社會需要看到朝鮮采取廢除核武器的措施，才會推動該鐵路項目取得進展。

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

馬里奧·里特二世報道。