Top Asian News 3:55 a.m. GMT

South Korea’s new President Lee vows to pursue talks with North and bolster ties with US and Japan

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung vowed Wednesday to restart dormant talks with North Korea and bolster a trilateral partnership with the U.S. and Japan, as he laid out key policy goals for his single, five-year term. Lee, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea’s leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, began his term earlier Wednesday, hours after winning a snap election that was triggered in April by the removal of then-President Yoon Suk Yeol over his ill-fated imposition of martial law late last year. In his inaugural address at the National Assembly, Lee said that his government will deal with North Korean nuclear threats and its potential military aggressions with “strong deterrence” based on the South Korea-U.S.

New South Korean President Lee faces crucial challenges at home and abroad

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Winning a tense election that capped off months of political turmoil, new South Korean President Lee Jae-myung described his victory as the start of the country’s return to normalcy following the crisis sparked by then-conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s imposition of martial law in December. But the outspoken liberal, who assumed office immediately on Wednesday without a transition period, takes the helm during a highly challenging time for the country, which has struggled mightily to revive a faltering economy battered by months of political paralysis and compounded by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes. Lee also inherits from Yoon the escalating threat of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, now further complicated by Pyongyang’s deepening alignment with Moscow over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

A quiet Tiananmen Square anniversary shows China’s ability to suppress history

BEIJING (AP) — For most Chinese, the 36th anniversary of a bloody crackdown that ended pro-democracy protests in China passed like any other weekday. And that’s just how the ruling Communist Party wants it. Security was tight Wednesday around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where weeks of student-led protests shook the party in 1989. Under then-leader Deng Xiaoping, the military was sent in to end the protest on the night of June 3-4. Using live ammunition, soldiers forced their way through crowds that tried to block them from reaching the square. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed, including dozens of soldiers.

AP PHOTOS: The anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown

For most Chinese, the 36th anniversary of a bloody crackdown that ended pro-democracy protests in China has passed like any other weekday. And that’s just how the ruling Communist Party wants it. Security was tight Wednesday around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, where weeks of student-led protests shook the party in 1989. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed after the military was sent in to end the protests. The Communist Party bans any public commemoration of the events. In recent years, that ban has been extended to Hong Kong, and it is only in Taiwan that June 4 gatherings can still take place.

North Korea’s Kim says he’ll ‘unconditionally support’ Russia’s war against Ukraine

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a visiting top Russian official that his country will “unconditionally support” Russia’s war against Ukraine, the North’s state media reported Thursday, the latest sign of expanding cooperation between the two nations. In April, the two countries officially confirmed North Korean troops’ deployment to Russia for the first time, saying that soldiers of the two countries were fighting alongside each other to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked North Korea’s participation in the war and promised not to forget their sacrifices.

Vietnam scraps 2-child policy as aging threatens economic growth

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam abolished its long-standing two-child limit Tuesday to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported Wednesday. The rules were usually stricter for Communist Party members, who could miss out on promotions or bonuses if they had a third child. Vietnamese families are having fewer children than ever before. The birth rate in 2021 was 2.11 children per woman, just over the replacement rate required for a population to avoid shrinking over the long term.

Annual births fall to another record low in Japan as its population emergency deepens

TOKYO (AP) — The number of newborns in Japan is decreasing faster than projected, with the number of annual births falling to another record low last year, according to government data released Wednesday. The Health Ministry said 686,061 babies were born in Japan in 2024, a drop of 5.7% on the previous year and the first time the number of newborns fell below 700,000 since records began in 1899. It’s the 16th straight year of decline. It’s about one-quarter of the peak of 2.7 million births in 1949 during the postwar baby boom. The data in a country of rapidly aging and shrinking population adds to concern about the sustainability of the economy and national security at a time it seeks to increase defense spending.

At least 11 people die in a stampede outside a cricket stadium in India after IPL win

BENGALURU, India (AP) — At least 11 people are dead and more than 30 injured after a stampede on Wednesday as crowds tried to enter a cricket stadium in southern India’s Karnataka state, authorities said. The crush happened as tens of thousands of cricket fans gathered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru city to celebrate the winners of the Indian Premier League, the world’s most popular T20 cricket tournament. Karnataka state’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who only uses one name, said the crowd tried to break one of the stadium’s gates and enter to take part in celebrations. Eleven people were killed and 33 others were injured, Siddaramaiah said, adding that most of the injured were stable and receiving treatment in hospitals.

Australian woman on trial for mushroom murder of in-laws says she was trying to fix a ‘bland’ lunch

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Before Erin Patterson’s in-laws and their relatives arrived at her home for lunch, she bought pricey ingredients, consulted friends about recipes and sent her children out to a movie. Then, the Australian woman served them a dish containing poisonous death cap mushrooms — a meal that was fatal for three of her four guests. Whether that was Patterson’s plan is at the heart of a triple murder trial that has gripped Australia for nearly six weeks. Prosecutors in the Supreme Court case in the state of Victoria say the accused lured her guests to lunch with a lie about having cancer, before deliberately feeding them toxic fungi.

A hungry wild elephant raids a grocery store in Thailand for snacks

BANGKOK (AP) — A hungry wild elephant caused havoc in a grocery store in Thailand on Monday when he strolled in from a nearby national park and helped himself to food on the shelves. Videos of the incident showed the huge male elephant, known as Plai Biang Lek, briefly stopping in front of the shop, located next to a main road near the Khao Yai National Park in northeastern Thailand, before ducking his whole body inside. The elephant stopped in front of the shop’s counter, calmly snatching and chomping snacks, and did not flinch as the national park workers tried to shoo him away.