[ti:Nuclear Threats on Anniversary of Nagasaki Atomic Bombing]
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[00:00.04]The threat of a nuclear conflict between the United States and North Korea
[00:05.16]affected an event marking the anniversary of world's second atomic attack.
[00:11.96]A crowd gathered in the Japanese city of Nagasaki Wednesday
[00:17.00]to remember the U.S. atomic bombing there in the final days of World War II.
[00:24.12]The attack took place on August 9, 1945.
[00:30.04]Three days earlier, U.S. forces had dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
[00:37.68]The mayor of Nagasaki spoke at Wednesday's observance.
[00:42.80]He said "A strong sense of anxiety is spreading across the globe
[00:48.48]that in the not too distant future these weapons could actually be used again."
[00:55.28]He and the crowd observed a moment of silence at 11:02, local time
[01:01.40]-- the exact time when the atomic bomb was dropped.
[01:06.16]The ceremony took place a short time after U.S. and North Korea officials
[01:11.44]exchanged strong language about the North's nuclear activities.
[01:18.24]On Tuesday, American media reported that the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency
[01:24.64]thinks North Korea recently succeeded in building a small nuclear warhead.
[01:31.96]The weapon is said to be small enough for the missiles that North Korea recently test-fired.
[01:39.32]The North Korean government has threatened nuclear war with the United States in the past
[01:45.16]because of United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
[01:50.04]Those measures are meant to punish the government for its nuclear tests.
[01:55.96]U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea Tuesday
[02:00.80]that its threat against the United States
[02:03.64]"will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."
[02:09.96]North Korea reacted quickly to Trump's comments.
[02:14.28]The North's Korean Central News Agency said
[02:18.08]the North Korean military is examining its plan
[02:21.78]for "making an enveloping fire" around Guam.
[02:26.60]The U.S. military has bases on the island territory.
[02:31.36]This is the first time that North Korea has identified an exact target.
[02:38.64]Balbina Hwang teaches at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
[02:44.72]She said, "The increase in rhetoric does raise existing tensions,
[02:50.64]but it does not translate into a shift of U.S. policy or strategy on North Korea."
[02:58.64]A former deputy U.S. ambassador to the UN, David Pressman,
[03:03.92]is concerned about the rising tensions.
[03:07.96]"Perhaps there wasn't a careful consideration of the words
[03:11.72]of our commander in chief in this instance," Pressman said.
[03:16.20]He added that, "If ever there was a topic on which we need
[03:20.76]to be extremely precise,  it's nuclear proliferation,
[03:26.16]when dealing with someone who is as unpredictable as Kim Jong Un."
[03:32.04]Speaking to reporters while flying to Guam,
[03:35.24]U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said
[03:38.96]he does not believe there is a threat to the island any time soon.
[03:44.12]He added "the president is sending a strong message to North Korea
[03:49.28]in language that Kim Jong Un would understand."
[03:54.00]In Seoul, South Korean officials seem to agree with Tillerson's comment.
[04:00.36]A top official said "I do not believe the situation has reached a state of crisis,
[04:06.64]and rather think we may turn this into an opportunity
[04:10.72]to overcome the serious security condition."
[04:15.40]The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported his comments. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM