Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday a summit between her brother and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won't happen if Japan sticks to "its anachronistic" approach. Kim Yo Jong's statement came after Takaichi told reporters last week that she had informed U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit in Washington that she had "a very strong desire" to meet Kim Jong Un. "But this is not the one that comes true, as wanted or decided by Japan," Kim Yo Jong said. "In order for the top leaders of the two countries to meet each other, Japan should first be determined to break with its anachronistic practice and habit." Kim Yo Jong, who is also a senior official, didn't explicitly say what Japan's "anachronistic practice and habit" are.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - The head of the International Energy Agency said Monday that the global economy faces a "major, major threat" because of the Iran war. "No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction," Fatih Birol said at Australia's National Press Club in Canberra on Monday. The ​crisis in ​the Middle ⁠East, he said, has had a worse impact on oil than the two oil shocks of the 1970s combined, and a worse effect on gas than the Russia-Ukraine war. Israel launched a new wave of attacks early Monday against Tehran.

TOKYO (AP) - Japan's top government spokesperson said Monday that one of two Japanese nationals detained in Iran has safely returned home in good health. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara's confirmation came one day after Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi announced the person's release. Motegi, speaking on a Fuji Television talk show Sunday, said the person had been detained since last year and was released on Wednesday. He said the person took a flight from Azerbaijan. Kihara, at a regular news conference Monday, confirmed that the former detainee returned to Japan on Sunday in good health. Kihara said another Japanese national who was arrested earlier this year is still in custody but "we have confirmed that there is no problem with the safety and health" of the person and that Japan is continuing to press Iran for a release as soon as possible.

TOKYO (AP) - Senior U.S. and Japanese officials tend to shy away from anything but very careful public comments about Japan's 1941 sneak attack on U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor. So there was embarrassment, confusion and unease on Saturday in Japan after President Donald Trump casually used the World War II attack to justify his secrecy before launching the war against Iran. The Japanese discomfort was compounded by the fact that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was sitting awkwardly at Trump's side as he spoke. Partly, the reaction is linked to the crucial security and economic role that the U.S. plays for Japan, its top ally in the region.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean rescue workers on Saturday recovered the remains of 14 people from the charred wreckage of an auto parts factory in the central city of Daejeon, where an explosion and fire injured at least 59 others. Fire officials said 25 people were seriously injured but it wasn't immediately clear whether any were in life-threatening condition. More than 500 firefighters, police and emergency personnel were deployed to contain the fire and conduct rescue operations after it broke out Friday afternoon. Videos and photos from the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex and some workers jumping from a building belonging to Anjun Industrial.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - After a four-year break, K-pop supergroup BTS returned Saturday with a massive, free comeback concert in Seoul, where thousands of police locked down a central boulevard for the Netflix-exclusive spectacle that drew tens of thousands of fans. "Annyeonghaseyo! We're back," RM, the band's leader, told the crowd, using the Korean word for "hello," as they opened with "Body to Body," setting off delirious screams from fans waving purple-and-red light sticks and thrusting smartphones into the air. All seven members of the band - RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook - recently completed South Korea's mandatory military service, and hope to reclaim their status as one of the world's biggest pop acts.

LONDON (AP) - Iran has launched missiles at Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean island that is home to a strategic U.K.-U.S. military base. Britain condemned "Iran's reckless attacks" after the unsuccessful attempt to hit the base. It's unclear how close the missiles came to the island, which is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iran. Here is what to know about the remote but strategic base. The United States has described the Diego Garcia base as "an all but indispensable platform" for security operations in the Middle East, South Asia and East Africa. Home to about 2,500 mostly American personnel, it has supported U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump on Thursday after the president this week seemed to complain that Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz. Takaichi, who met with Trump at the White House, told the Republican president that Japan has opposed Iran's development of its nuclear program and appealed to his desire to be seen as a peacemaker, despite his launching a war of choice with Iran. She told the U.S. president through an interpreter that in the Middle East and around the world now, there was "a very severe security environment," but said, "Even against that backdrop, I firmly believe that it is only you, Donald, who can achieve peace across the world."

NEW DELHI (AP) - Countries in Asia are scrambling to conserve energy and protect consumers as the war on Iran and attacks on gas fields and oil refineries disrupt critical supplies, rattling markets and driving up prices. The crisis is hitting Asia hardest because of its heavy reliance on imported energy, much of which is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point now under strain. Only about 90 vessels - mostly Indian, Pakistani and Chinese-flagged - have made it through the strait since the beginning of Israeli and U.S. attacks on Iran, and Iran's strikes against Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors, on Feb.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has driven a tank during army training supervised by her father, the pair's latest joint public appearance fueling outside speculation that the girl is groomed as Kim's heir. The official Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that Kim oversaw an offensive tactical drill involving tank units and infantry troops a day earlier and called for completing war preparations. Video and images released by state media showed Kim's daughter sticking her head out of the driver's hatch of a moving, olive green tank while her smiling father sat on top with three soldiers.