Asia & Pacific

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States believes progress has been made with respect to the North Korea issue but Washington has not taken a military option off the table, Vice President Michael Pence said in an interview.

Earlier this month, North Korea said it would allow journalists from South Korea to attend the shutdown of its nuclear test site. However, North Korea has not accepted the list of journalists wishing to cover the dismantlement that the Ministry of Unification of South Korea recently sent to Pyongyang.

Over the weekend, Wang Mingliang, a military scholar with the China National Defense University said to expect Beijing's Chengdu J-20 jets to conduct patrols in Taiwanese airspace in the future and that Taipei has few means to deter the tightening noose of military patrols around and above the island.

For the last few years, India has stepped up its engagement with Vietnam in what is being seen as an attempt to boost its military exports. In 2016, India offered the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the Akash surface to air missile to Vietnam besides announcing $500 million loan for defense purchases.

Japanese exports are gaining momentum amidst a solid demand for manufactured goods overseas, whilst concerns over possible disruptions in international trade are driving near-term demand for Japanese cars and factory machinery.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US President Donald Trump called on China on Monday to continue being “strong and tight” on the border with North Korea, also welcoming the decision to reduce the trade deficit between China and the US.

The 58-year-old man allegedly sat behind a female co-passenger and masturbated in full sight aboard a Turkish Airlines flight that had taken off from Istanbul. He was arrested soon after the flight landed at the Delhi airport, but police refused to disclose his name unless the allegations were ascertained.

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The South Korean Defense Ministry ruled out the possibility of halting or scaling down the annual joint military drills with the United States even despite the resentment on the part of North Korea, the ministry's spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said at a briefing on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - On May 23-26, 2018, the Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Corporation will display equipment and production potential at KADEX-2018, the 5th International Exhibition of Weapons Systems and Military Equipment in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, according to its press release.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague handed down a verdict in a territorial dispute between China and Philippines in favor of Manila, however, Beijing rejected the ruling, claiming control over all gas and oil activity in the South Chinese Sea.

Ahead of next month's summit with North Korean chief Kim Jong-un in Singapore, US President Donald Trump is concerned about the possibility of the meeting turning into a “political embarrassment,” and has begun asking his aides if he should go out on a limb and proceed with the talks, The New York Times has reported.

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Iranian authorities could "think about other options" if the US sanctions imposed after the withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) threaten the rights of the nation, the Iranian ambassador to China said in an interview with the South China Morning Post published on Monday.

Please McDonald’s (and every other fast-food joint): Take-away dinners will taste just the same using recyclable containers and our environmental impact will be significantly reduced.

Good serving staff is hard to find and harder to keep, and now Pyongyang wants those dozen waitresses who long ago fled to Seoul returned without delay.

A Pentagon representative has claimed that Russia is not doing enough to address the radicalization of terrorists. Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said that Daesh* is fleeing from Syria and Iraq and bolstering their positions in northern Afghanistan. Sputnik spoke about the issue with Rahimullah Yusufzai, security analyst.

TOKYO (Sputnik) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a phone conversation with his US counterpart Donald Trump, during which the two leaders discussed a possible response to Pyongyang’s threat to cancel the June summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Moon’s office said in a statement.

The dismantling of the Punggye-ri facility is part of a new policy, which became possible after a joint declaration was signed in Panmunjom on April 27. However, in May North Korea suspended further negotiations with Seoul over air drills that South Korea had launched with Washington.

BEIJING (Sputnik) – China and the United States agreed to avoid trade wars and further mutual tariffs, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A rally against discrimination of women during police investigations into sexual crimes took place on Saturday in the South Korean capital of Seoul and was attended by 10,000 women, local media reported, citing law enforcement.

In an attempt to reduce its trade deficit, the US has been imposing high tariffs on certain foreign wares, with China being the hardest hit. The US has recently imposed a ban on the export of US-made chips and semiconductors to one of China’s largest tech giants, ZTE – which comes as a significant blow to the company’s business.