Pressure builds on North Korea

The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has called on North Korea to drop its "provocations and policy of threats". Mrs Clinton is in the South Korean capital Seoul, the latest stop on a tour of Asia so dominated by the rising tensions on the Korean peninsular.

With North Korea accused of attacking a South Korean warship with a torpedo, resulting in the loss of 46 lives, Mrs Clinton said the investigation had been "objective, the evidence overwhelming and the conclusion inescapable. The international community has a duty to respond."

But beyond a show of solidarity with the South, and condemnation of the North, her speech here in Seoul gave little away about what that response would be.

As a permanent member, China is key to any effort to get the United Nations Security Council to take action against North Korea, and so far in public, Chinese officials are treading a cautious line, suggesting dialogue is better than confrontation.

Beijing is concerned that pushing its old ally too hard will lead to a dangerous escalation. There are hints of that already. North Korea has reacted angrily to a set of trade and shipping sanctions announced by the South, saying it will match the measures with its own, and sever the few remaining lines of communication between the two governments.

Mrs Clinton said she believes that the Chinese understand the seriousness of the issue and are willing to listen. She has left Seoul already, en route for Washington, but the diplomatic negotiations are far from over. The Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, is due to meet the South Korean president on Friday, before both men sit down with the Japanese prime minister for a three-way summit over the weekend.

· a torpedo

· an explosive weapon that travels underwater and is used to attack ships

· the conclusion inescapable

· based on the evidence there is no doubt about what happened

· a show of solidarity with

· a public statement of support for

· condemnation of

· expressing criticism and disapproval of

· gave little away about

· did not give much information about

· is key to

· is the most important factor in

· treading a cautious line

· being very careful and trying not to make the situation worse

· ally

· political or military supporter

· a dangerous escalation

· an increase in the pressure and tension of the situation which could make the possibility of military action higher

· sever the few remaining lines of communication

Text 7

Clean money for New Year

Chinese people around the world are celebrating their most important holiday, Chinese New Year. But for one man in Taiwan, it's all about business as he washes dirty banknotes for gifts.

According to Chinese tradition, parents give their children clean, fresh banknotes at the start of the new year. But such notes are in high demand in the run-up to the holiday period, and Yao Guan Cheng noticed a gap in the market.

Yao Guan Cheng (translated):
"When we first started this business, it was for family members who liked to collect antique banknotes. But later on, it struck me that this service would come in handy for the Chinese New Year. It is one of our customs to put banknotes inside little red envelopes in order to bring our children good luck.

 

"To do that, people change old notes for new ones at the banks. But here in Taiwan, there are all sorts of restrictions as to how much you can change, what days you can do that and which banks you can go to. That's inconvenient. So I thought: why not give people an alternative?"

He doesn't just soak the notes in water, he uses special chemicals that are a closely guarded secret. His services don't come cheap, he charges about $10 for washing twenty banknotes. But in the run-up to the new year holiday, he's been in demand, cleaning people's banknotes and in the process, giving a new, cleaner, image to the term 'money laundering'.

 

· are in high demand

· are wanted in large numbers by many people

· in the run-up to

· during the time just before an event or specific date

· a gap in the market

· a business opportunity, a chance to make money by providing something or a service that was not available

· antique

· something that is very old, usually more than a hundred years old

· it struck me

· it suddenly occured to me, I suddenly realised that

· handy

· useful and easy to use

· inconvenient

· difficult, causes problems

· soak the notes in water

· leave the money in water for quite a long time

· a closely guarded secret

· information that is only known to a few selected people

· money laundering

an illegal process by which criminals attempt to hide money from government officials because it has been earned illegally or taxes should be paid on it

 

Text 8