10-19-06

中国特使在平壤会晤金正日 (Chinese Envoy Meets With Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang)

北京官员说，一位中国特使星期四会见了北韩领导人金正日，讨论平壤核试验引起的国际危机。中国外交部发言人说，胡锦涛主席的特使、前中国外长唐家璇向金正日转达了胡锦涛的意见。平壤会谈的细节还没有公布。

美国官员星期四早些时候说，他们相信，胡锦涛向金正日传达了非常强硬的警告，希望北韩不要再进行核试验。

美国国务卿赖斯星期四在韩国围绕如何执行联合国在北韩10月9号进行核试验后对北韩施加的制裁措施举行会谈。美国敦促韩国参加对驶往北韩的船只进行货物检查，但是韩国官员担心，这种检查会导致与北韩的冲突。

Officials in Beijing say a Chinese envoy met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il Thursday to discuss the international crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons test. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman says a message sent by President Hu Jintao was delivered to Kim by Mr. Hu's envoy, former foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan. Fuller details of the talks in Pyongyang have not been disclosed.

U.S. officials said earlier Thursday they believe the message contained a very strong warning to Kim not to conduct any further nuclear tests.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in South Korea Thursday for talks on how to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea following its underground nuclear explosion on October 9th. The United States is urging South Korea to join in inspections at sea of ships carrying cargo to North Korea. Government officials in Seoul, however, are concerned that such inspections could lead to clashes with North Korea.

伊拉克北部两起爆炸19人死(Two Bomb Attacks Kill 19 in Northern Iraq)

伊拉克警方说，伊拉克北部发生的两起炸弹袭击中至少19人丧生。警方说，星期四在发生在基尔库克的爆炸中，8人被炸死。另一起发生在摩苏尔，一名自杀炸弹杀手驾驶一辆卡车袭击了当地的一个警察局，炸死至少11人，炸伤25人。袭击发生后，摩苏尔有关当局立即对全城实施严格戒严。

美国军方发言人考德威尔少将说，穆斯林斋月开始以来的三个星期，伊拉克的暴力活动比斋月前的三星期增加了22%。

Iraqi police say two bomb attacks in northern Iraq have killed at least 19 people.

Police say a blast in Kirkuk Thursday killed eight people, while a suicide truck bomber hit a police station in Mosul, killing at least 11 people and wounding 25. Authorities in Mosul imposed a strict curfew throughout the city after the attack.

A U.S. military spokesman, Major General William Caldwell, said violence in Baghdad has increased 22 percent in the first three weeks of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan from the previous three weeks.