Leaders of North and South Korea met in a historic one-day summit at the border of their two countries to negotiate the formal end to the Korean War. Though fighting stopped over sixty years ago, the countries have remained in a state of war ever since. North Korea has also promised to close its main testing site for nuclear weapons. Learn the English phrasal verb "hash out."
Also in Today's Lesson
Transcript
North and South Korea are moving toward a peace agreement, ending a war that’s over sixty years old
Welcome to Plain English for May 3rd, 2018. I’m Jeff and you are listening to the podcast that goes at the right speed for English language learners. Today’s episode is about the recent negotiations between North and South Korea, and their agreement to formally end the Korean War. Toward the end of the program, we’ll talk about the English phrasal verb “hash out.”
Today is episode 43 and you can find the full transcript of the program online at PlainEnglish.com/43. You might find it helpful to read the transcript as you listen, so that you don’t have to press pause if you don’t catch a word. The transcripts also have translations to Portuguese, Spanish, French and Chinese, so if you haven’t seen them, make sure to check them out. PlainEnglish.com/43 for the transcript of today’s episode.
Koreas move toward peace
The fighting ended in 1953, but the Korean War will officially come to an end this year, according to a peace deal reached between the leaders of South Korea and North Korea.
The two countries have technically been at war for over sixty years since no peace agreement was ever signed to end the conflict between the two countries that lasted from 1950 to 1953. Over a million people died in the conflict. The war was fought between North Korea, backed by China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, backed by the United States. Ever since the end of the fighting, North and South Korea have lived with an uneasy co-existence on the same peninsula.
Relations between the two sides have ebbed and flowed over the years. The North remains a military dictatorship, while the south has become a democracy and has made enormous economic strides. While South Korea has engaged with the world and formed alliances and trade agreements, North Korea has taken a more confrontational approach and has aggressively developed nuclear weapons and has threatened its neighbors and the United States.
The agreement between the two sides is surprising because tensions on the Korean peninsula seemed to be high in the past year. But things have moved quickly in recent weeks.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the heavily-guarded border between their two countries last week. The two leaders met and hashed out an agreement to officially end the war with a peace treaty and work to reunite families that have been separated on opposite sides of the border. Their meeting lasted 100 minutes.
The two leaders spoke about denuclearization. According to the South Korean president, Kim Jong-un agreed to close his main nuclear testing site in May and that both South Korea and the United States would be invited to witness the site’s closure. Kim Jong-un told President Moon that if the war is officially ended, he doesn’t think that North Korea would need to keep up a nuclear program. They agreed to work toward a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
The official statement from the meeting said: “The two leaders declare before our people of 80 million and the entire world there will be no more war on the Korean peninsula and a new age of peace has begun.”
There were other agreements made at the summit between the two leaders. The two sides agreed to further connect and modernize railways and roadways between the two countries. They would reduce the military presence along the border, changing its border name from a de-militarized zone to a peace zone. Kim Jong-un agreed to change the time zone in North Korea to match that of the South; previously, it had been 30 minutes different.
US President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Kim Jong-un in May or June. If that meeting happens, it would be the first time an American president would meet with a North Korean leader. American government officials, including the new secretary of state Mike Pompeo, have said there is a real opportunity to reduce the threat of war from North Korea.
This does seem to be good news on the surface, but we will have to wait and see if the promises produce real changes. North Korea has a long history of making agreements and then violating them. If you listen carefully to what they promised, you’ll notice they only promised to close their largest testing site; they did not promise to stop nuclear weapons altogether. What’s more, North Korea has tortured or imprisoned people for attempting to escape to South Korea. It seems unusual that the country would now embrace its southern neighbor and promise to increase ties after doing so much to keep its population separate.
Still, this is the closest that North Korea has come to having normal diplomatic relations with other countries in a long time and if a real change were to occur, it would have to start somewhere.
Today I have to say a really special hello and thank you to Hum Nath Baral. He is a math teacher in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal is a small country just north of India and Kathmandu is the capital. Hum Nath said that he often has to explain concepts to his students in English and has been using Plain English to get better at explaining concepts to his students. I’m really proud and happy to have Hum Nath in the audience. I can tell you when I started this project, I had no idea that anyone in Kathmandu would listen, so I was really excited when I saw his great review on Facebook.
If you would like to send me a note or leave a review of your own on Facebook, you can find the show under the user name PlainEnglishPod. You can find us on Twitter, too, with the same user name: PlainEnglishPod.
¿Hablas español?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into Spanish. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .
How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
你说中国话？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parlez-vous français?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Você fala português?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
日本語は話せますか？
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Parli italiano?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
The transcript of this lesson is available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Sen Türkçe konuşmayı biliyor musun?
The transcripts of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Turkish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Mówisz po polsku?
The transcript of Plain English lessons are available with interactive translations into your language. In each lesson transcript, we select about one hundred difficult words, phrases , and expressions for translation. Polish translations are available starting at Lesson 278.
How is this different than simply using a translation engine?
Translation engines are powerful tools for communicating in the modern world . However, they often miss the context and can either mislead you or leave you confused . Our human translators are here to make sure that you’re getting not only the correct definition, but also the full context .How can I use the translations in my studies?
Most members use the translations as they are listening to the lesson and reading along . When you come across a word you don’t understand, you don’t have to press pause to discover the meaning . You can simply hover your mouse over the highlighted word . This lets you learn the definition of the word without having to press pause on the audio.
Do the translations work on mobile?
Yes! Instead of hovering over a highlighted word, just tap on it .
Can I see a sample?
Yes, please visit PlainEnglish.com/sample to see a sample episode with the Spanish translations.
How can I access the translations?
Translations are included in two memberships: Plain English Plus+ and Starter. Choose a plan and get started today!
Audio
The fast version of this lesson is available for subscribers of Plain English Plus+.
Download PDF