美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)昨日警告，如果朝鮮選擇讓東亞核軍備競賽升級，那麼它就必須對此負責。
　　North Korea must be held accountable if it chooses to escalate a nuclear arms race in east Asia, Barack Obama, the US president, warned yesterday.
　　在奧巴馬首次向紐約聯合國大會發表的演講中，他將朝鮮與伊朗一道列為潛在威脅。在此次講話中，奧巴馬鼓勵所有國家與美國合作應對全球挑戰。
　　In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in which he encouraged all nations to co-operate with the US to address global challenges, he singled out North Korea as a potential threat, along with Iran.
　　奧巴馬說：“如果伊朗和朝鮮政府選擇忽視國際准則；如果它們將追求核武器置於地區穩定與安全以及本國人民的機遇之上；如果它們無視東亞及中東核軍備競賽升級的危險——那麼它們必須要對此負責。”
　　“If the governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore international standards; if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the security and opportunity of their own people; if they are oblivious to the dangers of escalating nuclear arms races in both east Asia and the Middle East – then they must be held accountable,” Mr Obama said.
　　“全世界必須統一立場，證明國際法不是空洞的承諾，條約將被執行。我們必須堅持：未來不屬於恐懼。”
　　“The world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties will be enforced. We must insist the future does not belong to fear.”
　　奧巴馬政府已表示，它准備就朝核計劃重啟與平壤的雙邊談判，但僅僅是作為重啟推動朝鮮半島無核化的六方會談的一個手段。由於朝鮮今年5月進行了第二次核武器試驗，聯合國加大了對朝鮮的制裁。
　　The Obama administration has said it is prepared to renew bilateral talks with Pyongyang on its nuclear programme but only as a means of reviving six-party talks on making the Korean peninsula a nuclear-free zone. North Korea was subjected to toughened UN sanctions this year in response to its second nuclear weapons test in May.