Asia

Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister on Wednesday rejected holding any further talks with the United States, days after the FBI accused North Korea of stealing more than US$6 billion from a cryptocurrency exchange and Washington launched a new round of sanctions aimed at Pyongyang. Analysts say the latest developments have all but killed off the chances of another Trump-Kim summit, despite the US president’s continued warm words for North Korea’s supreme leader and apparent openness to meeting him...

Twelve South Korean ⁠industry groups ⁠urged the government ⁠on Wednesday to invest in and support production of Korean television dramas, known as K-dramas, warning that the country’s production ‌base risked collapse. K-dramas have been hugely popular globally, but the number produced has fallen about 30 per cent from 141 titles in 2022, according to the Korea Drama Production Association. Three domestic ⁠broadcast networks cut drama output from 91 titles in ‌2012 to 32 in 2023, and some...

Malaysian police have arrested a 25-year-old woman who allegedly caused a disturbance by assaulting visitors at a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur, with the suspect admitting her involvement in the incident. Dang Wangi OCPD Assistant Commissioner Ahmad Azwan Amin Nordin said the local woman was arrested at about 5.40pm on Tuesday in Bandar Sri Damansara to assist in investigations. “Initial investigations found that the suspect admitted to being involved in the incident,” he said in a statement...

Vietnam’s average economic output per person is set to overtake Indonesia’s, according to the International Monetary Fund. Gross domestic product per capita, which provides a snapshot of a country’s standard of living, is projected to rise 8.9 per cent to US$5,259 in Vietnam this year – nearly double the figure a decade earlier and overtaking Indonesia’s US$5,153. This would also rank Vietnam fifth among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, behind Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia...

Just weeks after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping invoked their countries’ World War II alliance at the White House, Keen Sword 27 turned symbolism into hardware. The 11-day exercise, which wrapped up on October 29, deployed US Marine NMESIS anti-ship launchers and MADIS air-defence systems to Yonaguni – Japan’s westernmost island, just 110km (70 miles) from Taiwan. Japan mobilised its new Type 25 missile, with a reported 1,000km range, from Kumamoto for the system’s...

Indonesian authorities have arrested three people for allegedly tapping President Prabowo Subianto’s phone, according to police on Tuesday, with media reports suggesting one of the suspects may be a senior official. Prabowo, who took office in 2024, has come under increasing pressure for his government’s handling of the economy and destructive wildfires in the Southeast Asian archipelago. Top detective Asep Safrudin identified the suspects only by their initials, LSP, ASN, and EH, and said they...

Indian naval forces freed an Iranian fishing boat and its crew of 20 hijacked off Somalia after an operation lasting more than 48 hours, India’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. The rescue of the Azini was completed on Monday in the Arabian Sea, more than 3,000km (1,860 miles) from Mumbai, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. An official with the Puntland Maritime Police Force said Indian forces disarmed 12 suspected Somali pirates, confiscated their mobile phones and released them. He...

A German tourist was among two men still missing on Tuesday after a landslide struck a glamping resort on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Heavy rains on Sunday afternoon caused the landslide, which struck the Eco Park Pelaga Glamping Retreat in Petang district at around 11pm, The Bali Times reported. Three tents collapsed while a fourth fell into the Tukad Yeh Kilap River and was swept away by the currents. The 4-hectare (10-acre) property, which houses 25 tents, sits on a steep cliff beside...

A South Korean court revoked the Unification Church leader’s bail in a bribery case on Tuesday after footage emerged of her visiting the secretive movement’s headquarters in breach of release conditions. Han Hak-ja, 83, was sentenced to two years in prison in August for providing luxury items, including a designer handbag, to former first lady Kim Keon-hee while her husband Yoon Suk-yeol was president, in an attempt to secure policy favours. She was granted bail two months later on health...

The Indonesian government is facing mounting pressure to scrap the value-added tax (VAT) on sanitary pads and other menstrual hygiene products, with critics arguing it adds to the financial burden for women from low-income families already struggling to buy basic necessities. While the 11 per cent tax on such products is not new, the issue has gained traction amid public anger over rising living costs. Students took to the streets of Jakarta last week to protest against the government’s handling...

Since returning to the White House in January last year, US President Donald Trump has upended the global trading order with his scattergun approach to tariffs and launched a war on Iran that sent oil prices soaring. On Tuesday, American voters hurting from nagging inflation and the high cost of living that have defined Trump’s second term have the opportunity to deliver their verdict on his Republican Party in the midterm elections. Polls suggest that the Republicans, who currently control both...

An Indian tourist was killed and a New Zealand national injured when two helicopters collided and crashed while attempting to land in Nepal’s Everest region on Tuesday, police said. There are few roads in the Himalayas, and helicopters are widely used to transport tourists, climbers and supplies, as well as carry out emergency evacuations. Nepal’s challenging terrain and rapidly changing weather make aviation operations particularly hazardous. The small helicopters operated by Fishtail Air and...

A rally organised by Jakarta police to promote national unity has instead raised questions about whether the Indonesian government is using public events to blunt dissent, with questions raised over the identities of some participants after one admitted in a television interview that he had been paid to attend while posing as a university student. The controversy has fuelled criticism of what analysts describe as an intensifying effort to drown out opposing voices, while drawing attention to the...

A new public opinion poll released on the eve of the US midterm elections indicates that while few Japanese favour President Donald Trump’s policies, most say they wish Japan had a “strong” head of state who could make difficult decisions. Analysts suggest that while many Japanese believe a strong leader will stand up for the nation on the world stage and not shy away from bold policies, this does not mean they want someone with the bombast, showmanship and arrogance associated with...

An organiser behind a fundraiser for a boy whose parents died in an alleged hit-and-run accident in Singapore has vowed transparency, thanking donors for their “overwhelming” kindness amid debate over the campaign’s authenticity. Farah Diyanah Razid, who identified herself as a family member of the victims on the crowdfunding platform Give.Asia, said all contributions collected through the drive were intended solely for the child’s welfare and future. The clarification came after social media...

Suspected militants riding a motorcycle shot and killed two police officers assigned to protect polio workers during a door-to-door vaccination campaign on Tuesday in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. The drive-by shooting in Mohmand, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan, also wounded a third officer. The police officers were travelling to a nearby village to guard vaccination teams when they came under fire, police officer Ayaz Khan said. The attackers fled...

We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Indonesia’s haze crisis becomes rallying point for student anger at Prabowo The protests, taking place in several spots around the capital, have been organised by student leaders from the University of Indonesia along with a coalition of student organisations from...

Malaysia’s unity government is facing an increasingly uncomfortable test ahead of the Melaka state election, with parties governing together at the federal level reverting to old rivalries as they compete for votes in a contest that could foreshadow shifting alliances before a national poll due by February 2028. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition is under pressure to put on a strong showing against federal partners Umno, which is widely expected to retain power...

The discovery of dozens of pet remains dumped in sacks along a roadside in the Philippines has sparked public outrage and raised questions over whether the country’s animal welfare laws adequately protect pets after death. A pet crematorium in Bacoor, Cavite province – nearly three hours’ drive from the dumping ground in neighbouring Bulacan province – has been ordered to shut following complaints from pet owners, as police investigate allegations that the business improperly disposed of animals...

Singapore will work with Asean member ⁠states to strengthen ⁠the implementation of ⁠an agreement on transboundary haze when it chairs the regional bloc next year, the country’s environment minister said on Tuesday. It will also work with the bloc to establish ‌the Asean Coordinating Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control in Indonesia, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu. In response to questions in parliament, Fu said the coordinating centre will strengthen...

Malaysia’s halal safeguards are under scrutiny after filthy conditions and suspected slaughtering breaches at a chicken plant sparked demands to explain how it ignored warnings and operated for years without certification. The hygiene failures at the Puchong facility came to light after authorities seized more than 6.5 tonnes of chicken during a raid last week. The factory, which processes more than 40,000 chickens daily and supplies businesses across the Klang Valley in Kuala Lumpur, is accused...

South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it was taking steps to reissue passports for all 168 people affected by an online leak of sensitive personal information, including President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea-kyung, as police investigate how the data was exposed. “The foreign ministry is swiftly taking measures to ensure the smooth reissuance of passports for all affected individuals, including the president and first lady,” ministry spokesman Park Doo-soon said during a...

The impeachment trial of Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio may soon draw to a close after the prosecution decided to drop several of her charges, a move that legal experts have said is intended to speed up the trial and secure a conviction by focusing on the strongest evidence against her. Beyond the trial, the decision could have significant political implications for the 2028 presidential race, with a swift verdict potentially removing a strong candidate, according to analysts. On...

A 29-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced to five years and nine months’ jail in Australia on Monday after he killed a man who stole a backpack from his rental car. Lincoln Ng Jing Kai chased the man in a car and knocked him off his e-bike before driving over him. He was originally charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August after prosecutors agreed to accept the lesser charge. Sentencing him, Judge Terence Palmer said Ng’s actions “involved an element of taking the law...

North Korea is rapidly advancing its drone warfare capabilities by drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, even as South Korea’s efforts to keep pace remain bogged down by procurement delays and bureaucratic red tape, observers warn. They also caution that cryptocurrency theft has become a crucial source of funding for Pyongyang’s weapons programmes, following US Federal Bureau of Investigation allegations that North Korean state-backed hackers stole more than US$6 billion from Binance, the...

North Korea on Tuesday slammed the FBI’s allegations that Pyongyang was behind the theft of US$6 billion from cryptocurrency platform Binance, with Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister labelling it a “grave political provocation”. Kim Yo-jong, in a statement released on Tuesday by the KCNA state news agency, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s claim was “absurd rhetoric and nothing new”, given earlier US allegations that North Korea was behind last year’s major hack of Bybit. “It is a grave...

Japan’s ⁠government and ruling coalition ⁠are considering nearly doubling defence ⁠spending over the next five years as part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to strengthen the country’s military capabilities, according to two people familiar with the matter. If adopted, defence build-up spending for the five years ‌from April 2027 would be set at 70 trillion to 80 trillion yen (US$457 billion to US$508 billion), up about 1.8 times from the roughly 43 trillion yen allocated under the...

Singapore is pitching itself as a bridge between the European Union (EU) and Asean, as the two blocs continue their protracted discussions to seal a free trade agreement (FTA). However, Myanmar’s political uncertainty is a major hurdle towards an EU-Asean FTA, and Singapore will have to play a key role to break the deadlock when it assumes the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, according to an analyst. At a joint press conference with German Chancellor...

Rising from verdant ridge lines of southern Laos, 133 Chinese-built wind turbines help power Vietnam’s surging growth and represent part of a regional rush to diversify energy sources. “The view is beautiful. They’re bigger than trees,” 23-year-old Toukta Phonsala said inside her wooden stilt house in Dak Wai village, her baby bouncing on her lap. Hydroelectric dams have proliferated across Southeast Asia in recent years, but production drops off in the dry season and critics lament the...

Japan on Monday launched a new national agency focused on disaster management with the goal of making the country better prepared should there be a megaquake along the Pacific coast or in Tokyo, or an eruption of Mount Fuji. More than 350 workers at the National Disaster Management Agency will oversee preparedness, emergency response and reconstruction efforts. The agency is not being created in anticipation of any specific calamity, but rather is meant to fill a gap amid worries about whether...