Top Asian News 3:56 a.m. GMT

South Korea is in an uphill battle to contain massive wildfires as the death toll rises to 26

CHEONGSONG, South Korea (AP) — Helicopters dumped water over a burning forest in South Korea on Thursday as authorities struggled to contain the country’s worst-ever wildfires, which have killed 26 people, forced at least 37,000 others to flee their homes and destroyed more than 300 structures. Multiple wildfires have been raging across South Korea’s southeastern regions since last Friday. The government has mobilized thousands of people, dozens of helicopters and other equipment to extinguish the blazes, but officials said strong winds are hampering their efforts. Korea Forest Service chief Lim Sang-seop said “a small amount” — less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) — of rain was expected in the area on Thursday, not enough to play a meaningful role in extinguishing the wildfires.

North Korea sent 3,000 more troops to Russia, according to South’s assessment

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea sent around 3,000 additional troops to Russia in January and February in continued support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine, South Korea’s military said Thursday in its latest assessment. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea has also been sending more missiles, artillery equipment and ammunition to help Russia and that North Korea could increase its weapons supplies further depending on the war situation. Russia and Ukraine recently agreed on a limited ceasefire, though both sides have accused each other of violations. The military equipment North Korea has sent to Russia includes a “considerable amount” of short-range ballistic missiles, 170 millimeter self-propelled howitzers and around 220 units of 240 millimeter multiple rocket launchers.

South Korea’s truth commission says government responsible for fraud and abuse in foreign adoptions

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s truth commission concluded the government bears responsibility for facilitating a foreign adoption program rife with fraud and abuse, driven by efforts to reduce welfare costs and enabled by private agencies that often manipulated children’s backgrounds and origins. The landmark report released Wednesday followed a nearly three-year investigation into complaints from 367 adoptees in Europe, the United States, and Australia, representing the most comprehensive examination yet of South Korea’s foreign adoptions, which peaked under a succession of military governments in the 1970s and ’80s. The government-appointed Truth and Reconciliation Commission said it confirmed human rights violations in 56 of the complaints and aims to review the remaining cases before its mandate expires in late May.

Climate change and overfishing threaten Vietnam’s ancient tradition of making fish sauce

DA NANG, Vietnam (AP) — Bui Van Phong faced a choice when the Vietnam War ended 50 years ago: Stay in his small village, helping his parents carry on the family’s centuries-old tradition of making fish sauce, or join the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing his country for a better life. Phong chose to stay behind and nurtured a business making the beloved condiment, known as nuoc mam in Vietnam, that is now in its fourth generation with his son, Bui Van Phu, 41, at the helm. Fish sauce from the village has been recognized by Vietnam as an indelible part of the country’s heritage and the younger Bui is acutely aware of what that means.

Conviction of South Korean opposition leader is overturned

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An appeals court in South Korea overturned an election law conviction against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung Wednesday, potentially clearing the way for him to mount a presidential campaign. The courtroom victory comes as the country’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol could face an early exit due to his short-lived imposition of martial law and surveys show Lee, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party who narrowly lost the 2022 election to Yoon, is the early favorite to replace him. Yoon, a conservative, has been suspended from office since the liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached him over his Dec.

South Korea’s centuries-old Gounsa temple is left in ruins by unprecedented wildfires

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Unprecedented wildfires ripping through South Korea’s southern regions have destroyed large parts of an ancient Buddhist temple complex, burning down two buildings that had been designated national treasures. Five days of wildfires, considered among South Korea’s worst, have left 24 people dead, destroyed more than 300 structures and forced more than 28,000 residents to evacuate, officials said Wednesday. The Gounsa temple was reportedly originally built in 681 A.D. during the Shilla dynasty that ruled more than half of the Korean Peninsula. It is nestled at the foot of Deungun Mountain in the southeastern town of Uiseong.

Chinese researchers report a pig kidney transplant and a first-step liver experiment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese researchers are reporting new steps in the quest for animal-to-human organ transplants – with a successful pig kidney transplant and a hint Wednesday that pig livers might eventually be useful, too. A Chinese patient is the third person in world known to be living with a gene-edited pig kidney. And the same research team also reported an experiment implanting a pig liver into a brain-dead person. Scientists are genetically altering pigs so their organs are more humanlike in hopes of alleviating a transplant shortage. Two initial xenotransplants in the U.S. — two pig hearts and two pig kidneys – were short-lived.

Leaders of Brazil and Japan stress importance of multilateralism and agree to strengthen ties

TOKYO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressed the importance of free trade and multilateralism and decried threats against democracy as he and Japan ‘s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed Wednesday to step up ties across the board. The two leaders adopted an action plan for the next five years to bolster their cooperation in a wide range of areas from security to economy and trade to climate change. Lula, in his opening remarks at the talks, said that now is a perfect time to reactivate their strategic partnership when democracy and multilateralism are threatened, protectionism is rising in a number of countries and there is something of a “cold war” between the United States and China.

Thai prime minister survives a challenge by rivals who say her father is pulling the strings

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra easily survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday, following a two-day debate in which rivals charged that she has mismanaged the country and let her father, a former prime minister, control her administration. Opposition lawmakers argued that she has been unduly influenced by her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin is a popular but highly controversial political figure who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, fled into exile and recently returned to Thailand. Paetongtarn’s opponents said her administration has improperly favored the personal and financial interests of her family and her father.

Australia focuses foreign aid spending on Pacific region as US slashes aid programs

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia plans to spend a larger share of its foreign aid on its neighbors in Asia and the Pacific islands after the United States announced major cuts to development and humanitarian aid abroad. Three-quarters of Australia’s total overseas development aid will directly benefit the Indo-Pacific region, which is a 40-year high proportion, according to documents seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday. Total aid for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is set to increase by only 136 million Australian dollars ($86 million) above the current year’s spending to AU$5.097 billion ($3.22 billion). Neither Foreign Minister Penny Wong nor Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy mentioned Washington’s foreshadowed cuts in explaining Australia’s change in focus.