老挝大坝倒塌: 多人死亡，数百人失踪
老挝国家媒体称，一座水电站大坝倒塌，造成数人死亡，数百人失踪。
事故周一晚间发生在东南部的阿塔佩省。桑片－桑南内水电站大坝倒塌，下泄的水在整个地区形成巨大的水浪，冲走了数百所房屋，使好几十名居民无家可归。
桑片－桑南内水电站由韩国、老挝、泰国等四家公司合资开发， 本来计划在今年开始运作。
Laos Dam Collapse： several people killed，hundreds missing
Laos state media says several people have been killed and hundreds more are missing after the collapse of a hydroelectric dam.
The accident occurred in the southeastern province of Attapeu late Monday. The collapse of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam released large waves of water throughout the district, washing away hundreds of homes and leaving scores of residents homeless.
The dam is a joint project involving Lao, South Korean and Thai companies. It was scheduled to begin operating sometime this year.
即使朝鲜威胁得到缓解，美韩协议将继续存在
驻韩国美军司令布鲁克斯上将说，虽然朝鲜去核化的动作缓慢，但是来自平壤当局的安全威胁已经降低。
布鲁克斯上星期六（2018年7月21日）通过视频在美国阿斯彭安全问题论坛上说：“我们已经渡过235个朝鲜方面没有发出挑衅的日子了，我们看到了大的变化。”
他补充说：“的确，来自朝鲜的实际威胁与它的军事能力依然是存在的，但是，通过他们的言语和行动可以清楚地看出，使用军事能力的意图已经改变。”
不过，美国和韩国官员们说，即使朝鲜的核威胁降低、半岛的紧张局势得到缓和，美国与韩国的同盟关系不会因此改变。1953年韩战结束时签署的共同防卫条约确定了美韩同盟关系，为美军继续驻守朝鲜半岛提供了依据，以遏阻朝鲜向韩国发动攻击，并为地区盟友提供核保护伞。
在小布什政府中担任美国驻韩国大使的弗什博（Alexander Vershbow）对美国之音说，长远来看，朝鲜威胁的消失可能会导致驻韩美军的减少。
川普总统上个月在新加坡会见朝鲜领导人金正恩之后呼吁暂停与韩国一起进行的“战争游戏”。
目前，美国在韩国驻有2万8千军人。
US-South Korea Pact to Remain, Even if North Korea Threat Eases
Although the pace of the denuclearization effort by North Korea has been slow, the level of threat from the regime has declined, Gen. Vincent Brooks, top U.S. commander in South Korea, said.
"We've gone now 235 days without a provocation, so we saw a big change occur," Brooks said at the Aspen Security Forum via video link on Saturday. "To be sure, the physical threats and capabilities are still in place. But it's evident through words and action that the intent to use them has changed."
Even if North Korea's nuclear threat is reduced and tension on the peninsula de-escalates, the U.S.-South Korea alliance will remain unchanged. The relationship is bound by the Mutual Defense Treaty, signed at the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, to provide a basis for the continued U.S. troop presence on the Korean Peninsula to deter a North Korean attack on South Korea and to provide a nuclear umbrella in the region.
Vershbow, who served as ambassador to South Korea during the George W. Bush administration,said, in the long run, the absence of a North Korean threat could potentially reduce the U.S. troop presence in South Korea.
After meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, Trump called for the suspension of "war games" with South Korea.
Currently, there are 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.
