tamp down 復習
米国大統領のトランプ氏は中国に対し、北朝鮮問題の解決を示唆し、その解決に協力するなら貿易条件を有利にすると述べました。
Trump urges China to 'solve the North Korea problem'
After wrapping up a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, President Trump charged today that North Korea is "looking for trouble" and if China isn't willing to help tamp down the threat, the U.S. "will solve the problem" alone.
"I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!" President Trump tweeted of his two-day summit with Xi at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
"North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great," Trump wrote. "If not, we will solve the problem without them!"
North Korea launched a ballistic missile in the Sea of Japan last Tuesday - its fourth missile test so far this year. U.S. officials have also speculated that the hermetic nation could launch another missile test on April 15, the birthday of North Korea's founder Kim il Sung.
Over the weekend, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was ordered to head to the Sea of Japan. North Korea reacted strongly today against the carrier's deployment. “We will hold the US wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions,” a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to The Associated Press.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-urges-china-solve-north-korea-problem/story?id=46725640
記事の中で気になった表現は"tamp down"です。『ジーニアス英和辞典』第４版（大修館）で"tamp"を引いてみると、「（土、タバコなど）を軽くたたいて詰める、突き固める」とあり、よく"down"と共起します。LDOCEでは、"to press or push something down by lightly hitting it several times"と定義されています。
今回は、比喩的に使われており、「北朝鮮の脅威を抑える」ということを意味しています。今後の中国の動きに注目です。(Akim)
