Week in Focus: Trump-Kim and Philippines Dynamite
What you need to know
A weekly roundup of the region's most important news.
North Korea:
President Trump held a news conference in Singapore on Tuesday after his meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. Read six highlights and full transcript in the link. — The New York Times
The Trump-Kim summit was unprecedented, but the statement was vague. — The New York Times
Hours before meeting the US president, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toured the nighttime sights across downtown Singapore, taking selfies with local leaders and drawing crowds of bemused onlookers. — The Wall Street Journal
Footage of President Trump saluting a top North Korean general during this week’s summit meeting with the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, set off debate on Thursday over military and diplomatic protocol. — The New York Times
North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated countries. It is ruled by an unpredictable dictator with his finger on the nuclear button. Before, nobody wants to do business there. Now, some investors began considering the possibilities. — The New York Times
South Korea:
South Korea struggles to digest strange new reality of Kim Jong-un bonding with White House. — The Washington Post
Three South Korean former spy chiefs were sentenced to jail Friday for bribing disgraced ex-president Park Geun-hye with millions of dollars from the country's intelligence agency. — Channel News Asia
Basking in the glow of the positivity around relations with North Korea, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party of Korea enjoyed a sweeping electoral victory that demonstrated voters' support for his policies and disillusionment with the conservative opposition. — Nikkei Asian Review
Kashmir:
A well-known journalist in Kashmir who worked to bring stability and peace to the mountainous, war-afflicted region, was shot to death on Thursday. — The New York Times
Philippines:
In the Philippines, dynamite fishing decimates entire ocean food chains. — The New York Times
China:
US President Donald Trump on Friday reignited his trade war with China, slapping tariffs on tens of billions in Chinese imports and sparking immediate retaliation from Beijing. — Channel News Asia
China’s government has been trying to break the country’s addiction to ever-rising debt, but its effort to crack down on easy money is starting to hit growth in the world’s second-biggest economy. — The New York Times
Free power from freeways? China is testing roads paved with solar panels. — The New York Times
Didi Chuxing Technology, the Chinese ride-sharing company that bought the mainland operations of Uber Technologies, will begin offering its service this month in Australia, its first foray in a Western-style country. — Channel News Asia
Every June, millions of high school seniors in China sit down for a grueling university entrance exam, knowing they may not get into a top school or any school at all. Now they may have another option, the University of New Hampshire says it will start accepting scores from the Chinese exam, making it the first flagship state school in the US to evaluate Chinese applicants using the results from that test. — The New York Times
The State Department issued a health alert on Friday to American citizens living or traveling in China, advising them to seek medical attention if they experienced “auditory or sensory phenomena” similar to those experienced by American diplomats evacuated to the United States. — The New York Times
Hong Kong:
Hong Kong lawmakers passed a controversial bill giving mainland authorities joint control over a new rail terminus Thursday despite angry protests the move would erode the city's autonomy from Beijing. — Channel News Asia
Taiwan:
Many global airlines have bowed to Chinese demands to refer to Taiwan as part of China, but a handful of others – including the three main US international carriers –have resisted amid a US backlash against Beijing’s insistence on conformity with its views. — The Wall Street Journal
The United States unveiled its unofficial embassy in Taiwan’s capital on Tuesday, holding a low-key ceremony that signaled its support for the self-governing island while also trying to avoid a bigger clash with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. — The New York Times
Malaysia:
Mahathir Mohamad, leading Malaysia again at 92, is on a mission of facing a mountain of national debt accumulated under his predecessor, the prime minister has no time for apologies, mincing words or President Trump. — The New York Times
Malaysia’s new finance minister, Lim Guan Eng said the government would 'seek some claims' from Goldman Sachs, which helped raise billions of dollars for the 1MDB state investment fund. The fund is at the center of a scandal that led to the downfall of the previous government. — The New York Times
Vietnam:
An American citizen was among dozens of people arrested in Vietnam this week during protests against proposed special economic zones that have raised fears of Chinese encroachment. — The New York Times
Vietnam’s plans to vigorously police the internet took a step forward Tuesday when it adopted a cybersecurity law that requires internet companies such as Facebook and Google to store their Vietnam-based users’ data on servers in the country. — The Wall Street Journal
India:
The gun that was used last year to kill a prominent journalist critical of the Indian government was the same weapon employed in the murder of a scholar with similar ideological leanings, the local news media said Friday, citing a forensic report. — The New York Times
Pakistan:
The head of the Pakistani Taliban militant group, hiding in Afghanistan for years, was killed in a US airstrike, Afghan officials said Friday, removing a major source of tension between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US. — The Wall Street Journal
Afghanistan:
A suicide bomber killed at least 13 people at the entrance of an Afghan government building Monday, the day before a truce with Taliban insurgents was supposed to take hold. — The Wall Street Journal
Members of the peace march walking to Wardak, Afghanistan, from Ghazni on Tuesday. Among them are day laborers, farmers, retired army officers and even a bodybuilding champion. — The New York Times