vicious cycle 復習
N. Korean official: Ready for war if Trump wants it
President Donald Trump's tweets are adding fuel to a "vicious cycle" of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea's vice foreign minister told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Friday. The official added that if the U.S. shows any sign of "reckless" military aggression, Pyongyang is ready to launch a pre-emptive strike of its own.
Vice Minister Han Song Ryol said Pyongyang has determined the Trump administration is "more vicious and more aggressive" than that of Barack Obama. He added that North Korea will keep building up its nuclear arsenal in "quality and quantity" and said Pyongyang is ready to go to war if that's what Trump wants.
Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington go back to President Harry Truman and the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. But the heat has been rising rapidly since Trump took office in January.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/korean-official-us-vicious-aggressive-trump-46792462
記事の中で気になった表現は"vicious cycle"です。"vicious"を『ジーニアス英和辞典』第4版(大修館)で引いてみると、「(人、行為、習慣などが)邪悪な、悪い、非道の、不道徳な、堕落した」などの意味があり、"vicious circle[米ではしばしばcycle]"で「悪循環」という意味になることが分かりました。
LDOCEでは、"a situation in which one problem causes another problem, that then causes the first problem again, so that the whole process continues to be repeated”と定義されていました。
今回の記事では、「トランプ大統領のツイートは、悪循環に火をつけることになる」と解釈出来るかと思います。(Akim)
