Top Asian News 3:39 a.m. GMT

Kim calls for bolstering nuclear and conventional weapons after testing 2 types of missiles

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster up his country’s military capabilities to repel U.S.-led threats. The tests were apparent references to the multiple missile launches that neighboring countries said North Korea performed off its east coast on Wednesday, extending its run of weapons display as confrontations with the U.S. and South Korea escalate. The official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim oversaw the launch of the country’s newly built Hwasongpho-11-Da-4.5 ballistic missile tipped with a dummy “4.5-ton super-large conventional warhead.” It said the test-firing was meant to verify an ability to accurately hit a 320 kilometer (200 mile)-range target, suggesting it’s a weapon aimed at striking sites in South Korea.

Lebanon is rocked again by exploding devices as Israel declares a new phase of war

BEIRUT (AP) — Walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in an apparent second wave of attacks targeting devices a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and officials for the militant group said. At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 wounded in the second wave, the Health Ministry said. The attacks — which were widely believed to be carried out by Israel targeting Hezbollah but have also killed civilians — have hiked fears that the two sides’ simmering conflict could escalate into all-out war. Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.” He made no mention of the exploding devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.” In Wednesday’s attacks, several blasts were heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene.

Seen abroad as a leader on Indigenous rights, New Zealand enters a divisive new era

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — On the eve of New Zealand’s Māori language celebration week, the country’s right-wing political leaders ordered public agencies to stop affirmative action policies for Māori people, who are disadvantaged on almost every metric. The lawmakers then posted on social media about their enthusiasm for the Indigenous tongue. “In New Zealand we’re lucky to have this language and I’m glad to celebrate it,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of the center-right National party wrote on Facebook Monday. Māori was not solely “the preserve of people who think a certain way,” said David Seymour, the leader of populist party ACT — whose detractors accuse him of anti-Māori policies — in a video introducing his followers to economic terms in the language.

Lessons from Red Sea and Ukraine’s Black Sea fight help prep Navy for possible conflict with China

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy is taking lessons from its combat in the Red Sea over the past year and what Ukraine has done to hold off the Russians in the Black Sea to help U.S. military leaders prepare the service for a potential future conflict with China. From drones and unmanned surface vessels to the more advanced operation of ship-board guns, the Navy is expanding its combat skills and broadening training. It is also working to overcome recruiting struggles so it can have the sailors it needs to fight the next war. Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations, is laying out a series of goals, including several that will be highly challenging to meet, in a new navigation plan she described in an interview with The Associated Press.

Sri Lanka’s plantation workers live on the margins. But politicians still want their votes

SPRING VALLEY, Sri Lanka (AP) — Whoever Sri Lanka’s next president is, Muthuthevarkittan Manohari isn’t expecting much to change in her daily struggle to feed the four children and elderly mother with whom she lives in a dilapidated room in a tea plantation. Both leading candidates in Saturday’s presidential election are promising to give land to the country’s hundreds of thousands of plantation workers, but Manohari says she’s heard it all before. Sri Lanka’s plantation workers are a long-marginalized group who frequently live in dire poverty, but they can swing elections by voting as a bloc. Mahohari and her family are descended from Indian indentured laborers who were brought in by the British during colonial rule to work on plantations that grew first coffee, and later tea and rubber.

Brisk voting for local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir for first time after losing autonomy

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Voting for the first phase of a staggered election to choose a local government concluded Wednesday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the first such vote since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago. Turnout was about 59%, the region’s chief electoral officer said in a statement, as voting was “incident-free and peaceful.” Authorities had deployed thousands of additional police and paramilitary soldiers for security in the seven southern districts of the region, which has been roiled by an insurgency against Indian rule for decades. Over 2.3 million residents are eligible to cast their votes to choose 24 lawmakers out of 219 candidates in the first phase of the election.

A Japanese student stabbed near his school in China has died, Japanese officials say

BEIJING (AP) — Officials in Tokyo said Thursday that a 10-year-old Japanese student attending a Japanese school in southern China who was attacked the day before has died, asking Beijing to provide details of the stabbing and take preventive measures. A suspect is in custody. Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa expressed condolences and said it was “extremely regrettable” the student died despite requests for caution and enhanced safety around the time of the anniversary of the start of Japan’s invasion of China in the 1930s. Kamikawa said she also instructed Japanese schools in China to review their safety measures, and requested China to provide details of the attack and do its utmost to prevent a recurrence of similar attacks on the Japanese.

China announces sanctions on US companies selling arms to self-ruled Taiwan

BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday announced sanctions on American companies selling arms to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory and threatens to annex by force. Chinese state media made the announcement, citing the Foreign Ministry, but gave no details on the companies involved. Taiwan is awaiting deliveries of F-16 fighter jets, Abrams tanks and a range of missiles from the U.S. China has been upping its threats to attack Taiwan, whose 2.3 million citizens overwhelmingly favor their current status of de-facto independence. Despite their lack of formal diplomatic ties, the U.S. has long been a key provider of armaments and is legally bound to ensure the island can defend itself.

Thailand will indict ex-security personnel over the deaths of 78 Muslim protesters in 2004

BANGKOK (AP) — Eight former state security personnel accused of responsibility for the deaths of 78 Muslim protesters who were arrested in southern Thailand in 2004 will be indicted on murder charges, the prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday. The case earned special notoriety because of the manner in which the victims died. They were arrested, had their hands tied, and were loaded onto trucks, stacked like firewood. By the time the vehicles reached an army base where they were taken to be detained, 78 had died of crushing or suffocation. The long-delayed legal action in connection with what is known as the Tak Bai massacre came just over a month before the statute of limitations expires on the case.

Moscow will support Islamabad’s bid to join BRICS, says Russian deputy prime minister

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Moscow will support Islamabad’s bid to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies, the Russian deputy prime minister said on Wednesday while visiting the Pakistani capital. Pakistan applied last year for membership in the alliance that has a stated aim to amplify the voice of major emerging economies to counterbalance the Western-led global order. Founded in 2006, it included Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. Recently, it expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. “Of course, we would be supportive” of Pakistan’s request to join the BRICS alliance, Alexei Overchuk said in a televised news conference, standing next to his counterpart Ishaq Dar, who is also the country’s Foreign Minister.