updated 4:30 p.m. ET May 25, 2009
WASHINGTON - North Korea's nuclear test makes it no likelier that the regime will actually launch a nuclear attack, but it adds a scary (可怕的) dimension (程度) to another threat: the defiant (公然违抗的，目中无人的) North as a facilitator (提供便利的人) of the atomic ambitions of others, potentially even terrorists.
It presents another major security crisis for President Barack Obama, already saddled with (承担) wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a nuclear problem with Iran. He said Monday the U.S. and its allies (同盟国) must "stand up" to the North Koreans, but it's far from clear what diplomatic (外交的) or other action the world community will take.
So far, nothing they've done has worked.
At an earlier juncture (关键时刻) of the long-running struggle to put a lid (盖子) on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the administration of former President Bill Clinton in the mid-1990s discussed with urgency the possibility of taking military action. That seems less likely now, with the North evidently nuclear armed (拥有核武器，arm意为武装) and the international community focused first on continuing the search for a nonmilitary solution.
注：第一段可以这样理解——“北朝鲜的核试验并不表示这个国家真会发动核战争，但核试验的的确确使它成为另一种危险的存在：这个公然违抗公约、目中无人的国家可能为别人的、甚至是恐怖分子的核野心提供便利。”