Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

TOKYO (AP) - Chinese and North Korean state-run media this week devoted thousands of words to Xi Jinping 's summit with Kim Jong Un, but made no mention of a key matter for Washington: the North's steadfast pursuit of nuclear weapons that could threaten the United States and its allies in Asia. The silence says more than reams of the carefully framed propaganda. Until disarmament talks finally fell apart in 2019, Washington and Beijing were yearslong partners in diplomacy seeking to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions in return for much-needed aid and political recognition. Beijing routinely called for "denuclearization" - a bureaucratic term for nuclear disarmament - and there was hope in Washington, as well as in Seoul and Tokyo, that China would use its perceived influence as Pyongyang's diplomatic and economic protector to push the North on the nuclear standoff.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping returned home on Tuesday following a rare trip to North Korea that included a bilateral meeting and public appearances with leader Kim Jong Un underscoring a joint push to reestablish the alliance between their countries. Xi flew to the capital Pyongyang on Monday in his first visit there in seven years. During their summit later in the day, Xi expressed China's willingness to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade, agriculture, construction and technology, while Kim said the two countries will maintain their friendship as "the most important top-priority strategic work," according to Chinese and North Korean state media reports.

Afghan authorities cracked down on a protest in western Afghanistan Tuesday against the arrest and detention of more than a dozen women over dress code violations, with eyewitnesses saying police opened fire, leaving at least three people injured. About 100-150 people were participating in the protest in the western city of Herat, witnesses said. Protests are rare in Afghanistan, which has been run by the Taliban since 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. The government has since imposed rules governed by a strict interpretation of Islamic, or Shariah, law. Dissent is not tolerated, and protests against government decisions are illegal.

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines (AP) - Rescuers searched ruined buildings in the southern Philippines on Tuesday to ensure no one was still trapped a day after one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in a half-century killed at least 37 people and displaced more than 32,000. Only four people were considered missing on official records in the southern provinces near where the 7.8 magnitude quake struck Monday morning, but the Office of Civil Defense acknowledged several collapsed and heavily damaged buildings must be thoroughly inspected for possible survivors or casualties. The earthquake centered off Mindanao, the second most populous Philippine island, injured nearly 500 people and displaced more than 32,000, most of whom fled to emergency shelters.

Earthquakes are common in the Philippines, which lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the arc of seismic faults around the ocean where most of the world's earthquakes occur. Here's a look at some recent quakes in the Philippines: June 8, 2026: An offshore magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off Mindanao, killing at least 37 people. Tsunami waves hit some shores. Oct 10, 2025: Two powerful offshore earthquakes rocked Davao Oriental province, hours apart. The first 7.4 magnitude temblor killed at least seven people. The second one had a 6.8 magnitude and also sparked a local tsunami warning. Sept. 30, 2025: A magnitude 6.9 earthquake earthquake shook Bogo City in Cebu province.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - The Philippines has protested China's deployment of what Manila describes as a floating "structure" with personnel on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, fearing it could be a part of Beijing's effort to turn the uninhabited atoll into an island base, Philippine officials said Tuesday. The Department of Foreign Affairs said, without elaborating, that it lodged a protest over China's latest action on the Scarborough Shoal, which was spotted by the Philippine military and coast guard. China dismissed Manila's concern and reiterated that it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the shoal and adjacent waters, without responding or offering any details to the Philippine officials.

TOKYO (AP) - A wandering bear that scared residents of a Japanese city just north of Tokyo was captured on Tuesday after several days of panic during which all schools were closed. The bear was first spotted on Saturday near a park in Utsunomiya, a city north of Tokyo with a population of half a million. City officials have said they received dozens of reports of bear sightings in the following days, including near a library, schools and a community center, causing them to close all city-run schools Monday and Tuesday. The city issued bear warnings via social media and dispatched a public announcement vehicle, urging residents to take shelter inside buildings and vehicles if they encounter a bear, and to make sure to lock doors and windows and not to put out garbage at night.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un underscored their commitment to deepen cooperation and rebuild their complicated traditional alliance, as Xi is on a rare visit to Pyongyang in a likely attempt to reassert Beijing's unique influence over its socialist neighbor. It's extremely difficult to independently verify reports released by state-controlled media outlets of North Korea and China. But their dispatches on the meeting touted a joint push for greater cooperation while not mentioning North Korea's banned pursuit of nuclear weapons. This implies the summit produced outcomes both leaders could portray as gains; Xi reaffirms influence on North Korea and Kim wins some economic and political benefits.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Shops and businesses shut down, and public transport halted across Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Tuesday after a call for a strike by a recently banned group, known for violent protests. The Joint Awami Action Committee 's call follows clashes on Sunday in the city of Rawalakot between the group's supporters and security personnel that left seven dead. The violence erupted after the Supreme Court of Pakistan-administered Kashmir ruled that 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment. The JAAC, formed in 2003, demands greater political rights for the people of Kashmir and the abolition of the refugee seats.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - China's Xi Jinping is traveling to North Korea for the first time in nearly seven years in a trip that offers North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a stage to showcase an increasingly assertive foreign policy anchored by closer ties with his country's former Cold War allies. China, the North's economic pipeline, is expected to reassert its influence over a traditionally allied government that has grown closer to Russia in recent times. The meeting between the two leaders is their first since Kim traveled to Beijing for a World War II event in September 2025. Here is a look at what they may be seeking from their upcoming meeting: After years of prioritizing Russia - dispatching thousands of troops and munitions to support Moscow's invasion of Ukraine - North Korea's leader is now seeking stronger ties with China to break further out of isolation, embracing the idea of a "new Cold War" and projecting Pyongyang as part of a united front against Washington.