Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his teenage daughter, observed a live-fire test of multiple rocket launch systems, state media reported Sunday, a likely response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military training that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. The official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim watched the strike drill involving twelve 600mm-calibre, ultraprecision rocket launchers off North Korea's east coast on Saturday. South Korea's military said Saturday it detected about 10 ballistic missiles fired from North Korea's capital region toward the eastern sea. South Korea's national security council called the launches a provocation that violated U.N.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan said Sunday it targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan's Kandahar region overnight, as the fighting that erupted between the two neighbors late last month showed no signs of abating. The cross-border fighting, which has included Pakistani airstrikes in the Afghan capital, Kabul, is the deadliest yet between the two South Asian nations. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an "open war," adding to concerns about regional stability as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran engulfs the Middle East and beyond. In a post on X, Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the military had struck equipment storage facilities and "technical support infrastructure" in overnight attacks in Kandahar.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) - A passenger bus carrying Indian pilgrims slipped off a mountain road and rolled down its slopes in central Nepal, killing seven people and leaving nine more injured, police said Sunday. All seven killed were Indian pilgrims, and seven other Indian pilgrims on board were injured and taken to nearby hospitals to get medical treatment. The other two injured in the crash, which happened Saturday night, were the Nepali bus driver and his assistant. The bus was returning after the pilgrims visited the revered Manakamana Temple, a popular Hindu temple where devotees believe a goddess will grant them their wish if they visit the shrine.

BEIJING (AP) - Representatives from Beijing and Washington began their economic and trade talks in Paris on Sunday, paving the way for U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to Beijing to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in about two weeks. The delegations, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, convened in the French capital in the morning, China's official news agency Xinhua reported. The White House has said that Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2, though Beijing has not officially confirmed it. Bessent said on Thursday that his team will continue to deliver results that put America's farmers, workers and businesses first.

Voters in Kazakhstan headed to the polls Sunday for a referendum on a new constitution that would strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's grip on power in Central Asia's largest country. The proposal merges the Kazakhstani parliament's two chambers into one and gives the president the right to appoint key government officials with parliament's approval, including the restoration of the ​post of vice president. "The transition to a single-chamber parliament will not necessarily strengthen democracy, especially as the proposed amendments broadly expand presidential powers," Mario Bikarski, senior Eastern Europe and Central Asia analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, told The Associated Press.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Voters in Vietnam cast their ballots to select a new National Assembly on Sunday, two months after the ruling Communist Party reelected leader To Lam to the country's top political post. Nearly 79 million voters across the country are eligible to pick 500 representatives from 864 candidates to the rubber-stamp National Assembly. All candidates are vetted and pre-approved by the Communist Party, ensuring the assembly remains aligned with the party's political direction. The Communist Party tightly controls political activity, arguing that centralized leadership allows the country to pursue longterm development goals without disruptions. The new National Assembly is expected to implement the policy agenda shaped at the congress, prioritizing sustained economic growth and political stability.

HONG KONG (AP) - Taiwan saw a surge of Chinese military planes near the island, its defense ministry said Sunday, after a sharp drop in flights over the past two weeks had sparked discussions among observers. The ministry detected 26 Chinese military aircraft around the island on Saturday, with 16 of them entering its northern, central and southwestern Air Defense Identification Zone. Seven naval ships were spotted around the island, it reported. The increased number of aircraft came after the ministry reported a fall that left analysts scratching their heads about what China's military may be up to. Taiwan didn't report any Chinese military planes that went beyond the median line and entered the zone for a week from Feb.

BEIJING (AP) - Air China will resume flights flying between Beijing and North Korea from March 30, the airline's website said Saturday, after passenger train services running between the two nations restarted earlier this week . According to the website of the stated-owned airline, flights from China's capital to Pyongyang, North Korea's capital will run every Monday until May 18, but would scale down to two Mondays in June. In 2020 with the start of the coronavirus pandemic, North Korea banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and severely curtailed border traffic in one of the world's most draconian COVID-19 restrictions. Two years later, Pyongyang started slowly easing curbs and reopening its borders.

BEIJING (AP) - Over the years, a regular Chinese campaign of sending warplanes flying toward Taiwan - the self-governing island it claims as its territory - has raised alarm from Taipei to Washington. Now, a sharp drop in the number of flights in the past two weeks has analysts scratching their heads about what China's military may be up to. And that mystery carries risks, former U.S. defense official Drew Thompson said. "There are so many theories and the lack of understanding of China's intentions is what's disconcerting," said Thompson, now a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) - A Sydney business consultant was convicted Friday of breaking Australia's foreign interference laws by providing reports to two people he should have suspected were Chinese spies. Alexander Csergo, 59, is only the second person to be convicted under Australian laws against covert interference and espionage that angered China when they were legislated in 2018. The jury that heard the trial in New South Wales District Court in Sydney found Csergo should have suspected that a man and woman he knew only as Ken and Evelyn were working for China's ministry of state security. He was found guilty of the charge of reckless foreign interference and was released on bail for the weekend to return to court Monday, when prosecutors will argue for him to be placed in custody.