Top Asian News 1:38 pm GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. military said it moved 100 wooden coffins to the inter-Korean border on Saturday to prepare for North Korea's returning of the remains of American soldiers who have been missing since the 1950-53 Korean War. U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Col. Chad Carroll also said 158 metal transfer cases were sent to a U.S. air base near Seoul, South Korea's capital, and would be used to send the remains home. North Korea agreed to return U.S. war remains during the June 12 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump. While the U.S.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Jong-pil, the founder of South Korea's spy agency whose political skills helped him also serve twice as prime minister, first under his dictator boss and later under a man his agency kidnapped, has died. He was 92. Kim was declared dead on arrival at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital from his home on Saturday, said hospital official Lee Mi-jong. He described the cause of death as age-related complications. South Korea's presidential office released a statement saying Kim's "fingerprints and footprints that marked South Korea's modern political history will not be easily erased." A retired lieutenant colonel, Kim was a key member of a 1961 coup that put army Maj.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Friday that North Korea still poses an "extraordinary threat" to the United States. In an executive order, the president extended for one year the so-called "national emergency" with respect to the nuclear-armed nation, re-authorizing economic restrictions against it. While expected, the declaration comes just nine days after Trump tweeted, "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea," following his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. The order appears to undermine the president's claim. It states that "the existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material" and the actions and policies of the North Korean government "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States." The national emergency has been in place since 2008 and is a sign of the enduring tensions between the U.S.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to spend a third night in a hospital before returning home with her newborn daughter. Ardern's office said Saturday she plans to make her first public appearance since the birth when she leaves Auckland City Hospital on Sunday morning. On Thursday, Ardern became just the second elected world leader to give birth while holding office. Many hope the 37-year-old will become a role model for combining motherhood with political leadership. She plans to take six weeks' leave before returning to work, when partner Clarke Gayford will become the child's primary caregiver.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North and South Korea agreed Friday to hold temporary reunions of families divided by the 1950-53 Korean War as they boost reconciliation efforts amid a diplomatic push to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis. The reunions will take place at North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort from Aug. 20 to 26, Seoul's Unification Ministry said after a nine-hour meeting between Red Cross officials from the two sides. It said the countries will each send 100 participants to the reunions. People with mobility problems will be allowed to bring a relative to help them. Such temporary reunions are highly emotional as most wishing to take part are elderly people who are eager to see their loved ones before they die.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North and South Korean officials agreed Friday to hold highly emotional temporary reunions in August of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War. A look at key issues: ___ MILLIONS SPLIT BY WAR After the conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, the two Koreas banned millions of people who found themselves suddenly divided from visiting each other's territory across the world's most heavily fortified border. Decades later, most have no word on whether their loved ones are still alive — their governments prohibit even exchanging letters, phone calls and emails. Most of the separated family members are now in their 70s and older and eager to reunite with their long-lost relatives before they die.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Radical cleric Aman Abdurrahman was sentenced to death by an Indonesian court Friday for ordering Islamic State group-affiliated militants to carry out attacks including the January 2016 suicide bombing at a Starbucks in Jakarta. Abdurrahman, who police and prosecutors say is a key ideologue for IS militants in the world's largest Muslim nation, kneeled and kissed the floor as the panel of five judges announced the sentence while counterterrorism officers guarding him uttered "praise be to God." Several hundred paramilitary and counterterrorism police secured the Jakarta court where the trial took place. Fears of attacks have been elevated in Indonesia after suicide bombings in the country's second-largest city, Surabaya, last month that were carried out by families including their young children.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The family of a rights activist known for her criticism of Pakistan's military says their home in Islamabad was broken into and ransacked, and that two laptops and travel documents were taken. The break-in happened while the family was away on vacation. Activist and journalist Marvi Sirmed's husband says she learned about the incident upon returning home on Thursday. The husband, Sirmed Manzoor, says no other valuables were taken. Manzoor would not speculate who was behind the break-in but Sirmed has been on the radar of the country's intelligence service for promoting friendly ties with neighboring India. She has also been vocal in her criticism of militant groups.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's army says it killed six militants in a search operation in South Waziristan near the Afghan border where two soldiers were also killed in the clash. A military statement says the operation was conducted Saturday in the Spina Mela area based on information that some militants entered there from Afghanistan disguised as tribesmen being repatriated into the area. The tribes were dislocated from Spina Mela for a military operation in 2009 and were being repatriated. The statement says weapons and communications tools were seized from the scene. It says the militants were in contact with their handlers in the Paktia province of Afghanistan.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — At least four rebels, a counterinsurgency police official and a civilian were killed during a gunbattle in disputed Kashmir on Friday, triggering anti-India protests and clashes in which several people were injured. Government forces raided a cluster of homes on a tip that rebels were hiding in the southern Srigufwara area and they came under fire from militants, police said. Four militants and a police official with the counterinsurgency force were killed in the fighting, said Col. Rajesh Kalia, an Indian army spokesman. Police said a civilian husband and wife were hit by gunfire as soldiers cornered the rebels in the couple's house.

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