Nations at ASEAN’s East Asia Summit express concern over North Korea missile tests, trade
Foreign ministers attending the East Asia Summit of the ASEAN regional grouping have expressed concern about North Korea’s missile tests, saying they have a “negative impact” on peace efforts, a senior Thai official said on Friday.
Sex doll ruling arouses controversy in South Korea
A petition calling for a ban on importing life-size sex dolls into South Korea has gathered nearly a quarter million signatures as of Friday, passing a threshold that requires the president’s office to respond to the matter.
South Korean official says Japan an obstacle to building peace on Korean peninsula
Japan has created an obstacle to building peace on the Korean peninsula, a senior South Korean official said on Friday, saying the country would review whether to maintain a military information pact with its neighbor.
No air strikes in Syria’s northwest as ceasefire declared: Observatory
Syrian and Russian warplanes mounted no air strikes in the rebel-held northwest on Friday after a ceasefire was announced, a war monitor said, after three months of violence that has killed hundreds while failing to yield big territorial gains.
Indonesian fishing boat sinks off Borneo, over 30 missing: media
An Indonesian fishing boat has sunk in waters off South Kalimantan province on Borneo island, with 31 people still missing, media reports cited the country’s search and rescue agency as saying on Friday.
Bombs hit Bangkok during major security meeting
Six small bomb blasts wounded at least four people in Bangkok on Friday, as the Thai capital hosted a Southeast Asian security meeting with top diplomats from the United States, China and other world powers.
South Korea says ‘won’t be defeated again’ as Japan trade dispute escalates
South Korea fired back at Japan over a deepening trade dispute on Friday, pledging it would not be “defeated again” by its neighbor, laying bare decades-old animosity at the root of a row over fast-track export status.
South Korea will take steps to drop Japan from white list countries
South Korea plans to take steps to drop Japan from white list countries with fast-track export status, South Korea’s finance minister said on Friday.
Japan calls Russian PM’s visit to disputed island regrettable
A visit on Friday by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to an island claimed by both Japan and Russia was extremely regrettable, Japan’s foreign ministry said, urging Moscow to take constructive steps to advance ties.
Trump says it’s up to China to deal with Hong Kong ‘riots’
U.S. President Donald Trump has described protests in Hong Kong as “riots” that China will have to deal with itself, signaling a hands-off approach to the biggest political crisis gripping the former British colony in decades.
