Military parade in Pyongyang, 15 April
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Tension is high following a massive military parade and missile test
An American citizen has been detained in North Korea as he tried to leave the country, South Korean media say.
The man was identified only by his surname, Kim.
He becomes the third American to be detained by the North; one has been sentenced for spying, the other for trying to steal a sign from a hotel.
The latest detention comes amid high tension on the peninsula, with the US warning its "strategic patience" on the North's nuclear programme is over.
A US naval battle group headed by an aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, and described by President Donald Trump as an "armada", is expected to reach the Korean peninsula later in the week.
armada
: n. a large group of things, especially ships or boats 舰队,大批,大群〔尤指舰船〕;也多有译为无敌战舰。
例:an armada of US naval vessels 美国海军舰队
这里值得一提的是,川普的这个“Armada”用典不大好,因为armada是1588年西班牙远征新兴资本主义国家英国而派出的战舰群,西班牙人自豪的称之为“幸福的无敌战舰”,然而最后却被英国打的落荒而逃。所以川普这个还是略显尴尬...
The South Korean news agency Yonhap said the detained American citizen, in his 50s, was a former professor from Yanbian University in China and had been in North Korea for a month in connection with relief programmes.
He was arrested at Pyongyang International Airport, Yonhap said.
In January last year, US student Otto Warmbier, 21, was arrested for trying to steal a propaganda sign from a hotel while visiting North Korea.
He was given 15 years' hard labour for crimes against the state in March 2016.
In April last year, Kim Dong-chul, a 62-year-old naturalised US citizen born in South Korea, was sentenced to 10 years' hard labour for spying. He had been arrested the previous October.
naturalise : vt. 使入国籍;使归化 vi. 加入国籍;归化(等于naturalize)
虽然读的BBC,但是我们也可以看下美语的解词:A naturalized citizen of a particular country is someone who has legally become a citizen of that country, although they were not born there. 加入国籍的
例句: Einstein was naturalised American nationality in 1940. 爱因斯坦于1940年加入美国国籍。
The US has in the past accused North Korea of detaining its citizens to use them as pawns.
After the brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was murdered recently in Malaysia, Malaysian citizens in Pyongyang were arrested and held until North Koreans suspected of the murder were released in Kuala Lumpur.
Tension remains high on the peninsula following the North's recent failed missile test and massive military parade showing off its latest hardware.
North Korea has said it is ready to sink the Carl Vinson, and on Sunday said it would strike Australia with nuclear weapons if it remained an ally of the United States.
North Korea's aim is to develop nuclear weapons small enough to put on ballistic missiles, but there is no evidence yet it has done so, or that it has missiles with the range to reach long-distance targets.
This week US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, on a tour of Asian nations, said the US was "reviewing all the status of North Korea, both in terms of state sponsorship of terrorism as well as the other ways in which we can bring pressure on the regime in Pyongyang".
North Korean media responded by warning of an unspecified "super-mighty pre-emptive strike".
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timeline of recent tensions
8 April: The US military orders a navy strike group to move towards the Korean peninsula
11 April: North Korea says it will defend itself "by powerful force of arms"
15 April: North Korea puts on a huge military parade - complete with missiles - to mark 105th birthday of the nation's founding president, Kim Il-sung. Meanwhile US Vice-President Mike Pence arrives in South Korea
16 April: North Korea conducts a rocket test, but it fails
17 April: Senior North Korean official tells the BBC the country will continue to test missiles "weekly" and Mr Pence warns North Korea not to "test" Donald Trump
18 April: It emerges the US Navy strike group was not heading towards North Korea when US officials suggested it was
今晚我们学习了这篇有关朝鲜的时政军事类文章,虽然只解析了其中两个词,但是已经到午夜了,一是原文本来就比较简单,而是最近工作实在太忙。这是第一篇BBC专题,以后基本每天我还会继续分享,也希望大家提出更好的建议给我,一起学习,共同提高!