Top Asian News 4:52 a.m. GMT

South Korea’s Yoon defends martial law as an act of governance and vows to ‘fight to the end’

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree as an act of governance and denied rebellion charges, vowing Thursday to “fight to the end” in response to attempts to impeach him and intensifying investigations into last week’s dramatic move. The main opposition Democratic Party quickly slammed Yoon’s speech as “an expression of extreme delusion” and “false propaganda.” Later Thursday, it and other opposition parties submitted a new impeachment motion against Yoon for a floor vote this weekend. The opposition-controlled parliament also passed motions Thursday to impeach and suspend Yoon’s police chief and justice minister over the imposition of martial law, escalating the pressure on Yoon’s embattled government.

A look at the political storm caused by South Korean president’s martial law decree

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his martial law decree in fiery comments made ahead of a second impeachment attempt and growing investigations into whether his short-lived power grab amounted to a rebellion. Yoon’s statement came on the 45th anniversary of a coup orchestrated by the country’s last military strongman Chun Doo-hwan and has deepened the turmoil paralyzing South Korean politics and diplomacy. Here’s a look at the whirlwind events that have shaken one of Asia’s most robust democracies: In a surprise announcement at 10:29 p.m., President Yoon tells a national television audience he’s declaring martial law, saying the opposition-controlled parliament has become a “den of criminals” paralyzing government affairs.

North Korean nationals indicted in scheme using IT workers to funnel money for weapons programs

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Fourteen North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme using information technology workers with false identities to contract with U.S. companies — workers who then funneled their wages to North Korea for development of ballistic missiles and other weapons, the head of the FBI office in St. Louis said Thursday. The scheme involving thousands of IT workers generated more than $88 million for the North Korean government, Ashley T. Johnson, special agent in charge of the St. Louis FBI office, said at a news conference. In addition to their wages, the workers stole sensitive information from companies or threatened to leak information in exchange for extortion payments, Johnson said.

Huge and rare Mekong catfish spotted in Cambodia, raising conservation hopes

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Six critically endangered Mekong giant catfish — one of the largest and rarest freshwater fish in the world — were caught and released recently in Cambodia, reviving hopes for the survival of the species. The underwater giants can grow up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weigh up to 300 kilograms (661 pounds), or as heavy as a grand piano. They now are only found in Southeast Asia’s Mekong River but in the past inhabited the length of the 4,900-kilometer (3,044 mile)-long river, all the way from its outlet in Vietnam to its northern reaches in China’s Yunnan province.

Indian teen Gukesh Dommaraju becomes the youngest chess world champion after beating Chinese rival

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.

2 Vietnamese police officials sexually attacked young women on visit to New Zealand, authorities say

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand authorities have “no doubt” that two Vietnamese officials sexually attacked two young female servers at a restaurant during a visit to the country, but were unable to charge the men before they returned to Vietnam, police said Thursday. Vietnam and New Zealand do not have an extradition treaty so the alleged attackers cannot be forced to face charges. One of the women said they were attacked at a restaurant in Wellington in March days before Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính was due to visit New Zealand. The accused men were “associated with the police” in Vietnam and had met with officers at the police training college near Wellington, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told reporters Thursday.

Fresh fin whale meat is auctioned for the first time in decades in Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Meat from fin whales caught for the first time in nearly 50 years off Japan’s northern coast fetched up to more than $1,300 per kilogram (2.2 lbs) at auction Thursday, as officials try to keep the struggling industry alive. Japan’s Fisheries Agency this year added fin whales to its list of three whale species that can be legally hunted as the country expands commercial whaling along its coast. Japan resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in 2019. The IWC designated the fin whale as a species for protection from overhunting in 1976.

Hong Kong court convicts 7 men, including ex-lawmaker, of rioting during 2019 protests

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong judge on Thursday convicted seven people, including a pro-democracy former lawmaker, of rioting during mob violence at a subway station at the height of the city’s anti-government protests in July 2019. Prosecutors accused former legislator Lam Cheuk-ting and the six other defendants of provoking members of a group of about 100 men armed with wooden poles and metal rods who attacked protesters and bystanders at a train station. The men, all clad in white shirts, in contrast with the black worn by protesters, claimed to be protecting their homeland in Yuen Long, a residential district in Hong Kong’s New Territories.

A Pakistani court indicts imprisoned former PM Imran Khan and his wife for corruption

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Thursday indicted imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in one of several graft cases they face, officials and his party said. Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi pleaded not guilty when a judge in the garrison city of Rawalpindi read them the charges. The couple is accused of keeping and selling state gifts including jewelry they received when Khan was in office, at a value less than their market price. Under Pakistan’s laws, government officials and politicians are allowed to keep gifts they receive while in office from foreign dignitaries, but must pay their market value and declare how much they earned from their sales.

Thousands attend the funeral of a Taliban minister killed by an Islamic State suicide bomber

GARDA SERAI, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of people attended the funeral on Thursday of a Taliban minister killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, the day before that was claimed by the Islamic State group. The funeral for Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, was held in the eastern Paktia province. The Cabinet member was the most high-profile casualty of an assault in the country since the Taliban seized power three years ago. The minister, who died in a blast Wednesday at his ministry in Kabul along with five others, was the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister and the leader of a powerful faction within the Taliban.