Top Asian News 2:20 a.m. GMT

North Koreans are seen wearing Kim Jong Un pins for the first time as his personality cult grows

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For the first time, North Korean officials have been seen wearing lapel pins with the image of leader Kim Jong Un, another sign the North is boosting his personality cult to the level bestowed on his late dictator father and grandfather. North Koreans are required to wear pins over their hearts which for decades bore images of either the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung, or his son Kim Jong Il, or both. The existence of pins dedicated to Kim Jong Un had not been verified until state media published photos on Sunday showing officials wearing his pins at a ruling Workers’ Party meeting.

North Korea says its recent missile tests involved new ballistic missile with ‘super-large warhead’

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Tuesday it had test-fired a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a huge warhead, as the country is pushing to modernize its weapons arsenal to cope with what it calls U.S.-led threats. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency called the weapon Hwasongpho-11Da-4.5 which can carry 4.5 ton-class “super-large warhead.” It said the test-fire on Monday was meant to verify flight stability and hit accuracy at the maximum range of 500 kilometers (310 miles) and the minimum range of 90 kilometers (55 miles). South Korea’s military earlier said that North Korea launched two ballistic missiles from one of its southwestern towns in a northeastern direction on Monday and that the first missile flew 600 kilometers (370 miles) and the second missile 120 kilometers (75 miles).

UN group demands release of ex-Pakistan PM Imran Khan; says his detention violates international law

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A United Nations human rights working group on Monday called for the immediate release of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying he had been detained “arbitrarily in violation of international laws.” The Geneva-based United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention made this demand after examining Khan’s case in which he was sentenced last year on charges of corruption. Khan has been facing multiple prison sentences since 2022 when he was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in the parliament. There was no immediate comment from the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster.

Mongolia may return to coalition government after official results confirm setback for ruling party

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Mongolia’s ruling party won a much smaller majority in a parliamentary election than it had held previously, according to official results released on Monday, raising the possibility of a return to a coalition government for the first time in eight years. The Mongolian People’s Party took 68 seats in the 126-seat body in Friday’s nationwide vote, while the opposition Democratic Party won 42, according to a certified list of winners posted on the General Election Commission website. The remaining 16 seats were divided among smaller parties. The commission presented the final results to the country’s president on Monday shortly before handing out membership cards to the newly elected lawmakers at a ceremony in the State Palace, a grand building in the capital city that houses the parliament chamber and the offices of the president and the prime minister.

UN-led meeting in Qatar with Afghan Taliban is not a recognition of their government, official says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A United Nations-led meeting held in Qatar with the Taliban on increasing engagement with Afghanistan does not translate into a recognition of their government, a U.N. official said Monday. The gathering on Sunday and Monday in Qatar’s capital of Doha with envoys from some two dozen countries was the first time that representatives of the Afghan Taliban administration attended such a U.N.-sponsored meeting. The Taliban were not invited to the first meeting, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said they set unacceptable conditions for attending the second one, in February, including demands that Afghan civil society members be excluded from the talks and that the Taliban be treated as the country’s legitimate rulers.

A car hits pedestrians in central Seoul, killing 9 and injuring 4

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A car hit pedestrians waiting at a traffic light in central Seoul on Monday evening, killing nine people and injuring four, South Korea’s emergency officials said. The passenger car drove in the wrong direction and collided with two other cars just before hitting the pedestrians, South Korean media reports said. The reports say the driver in his late 60s spoke of a sudden, unintended acceleration. He was detained, media reported. Seoul police did not immediately confirmed the reports. Emergency officer Kim Chun-su told a briefing that one of the four injured was in serious condition. President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered his safety minister and emergency agency chief to make best efforts to aid the victims.

Japan successfully launches an advanced Earth observation satellite on its new flagship H3 rocket

TOKYO (AP) — Japan successfully deployed an upgraded Earth observation satellite for disaster response and security after it was launched on a new flagship H3 rocket Monday. The H3 No. 3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center on a southwestern Japanese island and released its payload about 16 minutes later, putting it into a targeted orbit as planned, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said during a livestream. The Advanced Land Observation Satellite, or ALOS-4, is tasked primarily with Earth observation and data collection for disaster response and mapmaking, including for volcanic and seismic activity and other land movements.

Japanese executive among dozens arrested in Myanmar for allegedly selling rice above set prices

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has arrested a Japanese business executive, along with dozens of local businessmen, for allegedly selling rice at prices well above the officially regulated ones, state-run media said Monday. The reports said Hiroshi Kasamatsu, a director of Aeon Orange, was detained. Aeon Orange operates several supermarkets in Myanmar and is part of Japan’s giant Aeon retail group. Japanese media reports confirmed that Kasamatsu is one of its executives. Rice is vital as Myanmar struggles to keep its economy on an even keel as civil war disrupts efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, triggering nonviolent protests that have evolved into armed resistance.

Surveys show Chinese economy growing but at modest pace

BANGKOK (AP) — Surveys of Chinese factory managers showed a mixed outlook for the world’s second-largest economy in June, with growth steady but not picking up much steam. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing’s official purchasing managers index, or PMI, remained at 49.5, the same as in May, on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cut off for expansion. “From the perspective of output, China’s economy is maintaining expansion, but the momentum of recovery still needs to be consolidated,” the official Xinhua News Agency cited Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician for the National Bureau of Statistics, as saying.

Pakistani court sentences Christian man to death for posting hateful content against Muslims

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian man to death for sharing what it said was hateful content against Muslims on social media after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the eastern Punjab province last year, his lawyer said Monday, adding he will appeal the verdict. In August 2023, groups of Muslim men burned dozens of homes and churches in the city of Jaranwala after some residents claimed they saw two Christian men tearing out pages from Islam’s holy book, the Quran, throwing them on the ground and writing insulting remarks on other pages, authorities said.