ramp up threats

朝鮮半島がキナ臭くなっています。明日から米韓合同の演習が予定されていますが，北朝鮮はこれに対して，"physical reaction"をおこなうと宣言しました。CNNは"North Korea ramps up threats against military exercises"と伝えています。rampは普通，「商品などを増産する」という意味で使われますが，ここではthreatsを「段階的に強める」という意味で使われています。rampの名詞形に「飛行機などに乗るタラップ」の意味もありますが，戦闘機を使用する状態へと段階的に移行している様が伝わります（ramp up threatsのような使い方は学習辞典にはないようです）。ともあれ何も起きないことを祈るのみです。（UG）
Hanoi, Vietnam (CNN) -- North Korea on Saturday heightened its threats against upcoming U.S.-supported military exercises after talks over the sinking of a South Korean warship.
North Korea "will legitimately counter with [its] powerful nuclear deterrence the largest-ever nuclear war exercises to be staged by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet forces," the state-run KCNA news agency said.
Earlier, the isolated communist nation vowed a "physical response" to massive U.S.-South Korean military drills set to begin Sunday. The U.S. Defense Department said the drills are in response to the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan and are intended to send a strong message to Pyongyang to stop "provocative and warlike acts."
At a regional security conference Friday, North Korea lashed out at the impending exercise.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/23/north.korea.threat/index.html?hpt=T1#fbid=dYHN7fbu7Sr

cf. http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100724p2g00m0in016000c.html