Top Asian News 3:39 a.m. GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Even two decades after he fled North Korea, even with an abiding hatred of the ruling dictatorship, Sim Ju-il sometimes still relives the days when he goose-stepped past the nation's revered founder, Kim Il Sung, as a young man. Alone on a Seoul street, he'll pretend his umbrella is a rifle and present arms as he lifts his now aged legs in a rigid, still springy march and remembers the long-ago, exalted feeling. "I was proud of myself because not too many people got to take part in these marches, and I still have that pride," said Sim, 67, who participated in military parades in 1972 and 1985 — first as a goose-stepper and later riding on a military vehicle — before later defecting to South Korea.

SAPPORO, Japan (AP) — Searchers used dogs, backhoes and shovels to dig through mud and debris Friday looking for survivors beneath the landslides caused by a powerful earthquake in northern Japan that left at least 16 people dead or presumed dead. The magnitude 6.7 quake early Thursday unleashed scores of landslides that buried homes in avalanches of soil, rock and timber on the country's northernmost main island of Hokkaido. In Atsuma, a town of 4,600 people, 26 were still unaccounted for. The landslides ripped through some homes and buried others. Some residents interviewed by national broadcaster NHK described awakening to find their relatives and next-door neighbors gone.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday that he's pushing for "irrevocable progress" on efforts to rid North Korea of its nukes by the end of this year as he prepares for his third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Earlier this week, Moon sent special envoys to Pyongyang to help resolve the nuclear stalemate. After returning home, his envoys said Thursday that Kim still has faith in President Donald Trump and reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula though Kim expressed frustration over outside skepticism about his sincerity. Trump later responded by tweeting, "Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Judges at the International Criminal Court ruled Thursday that the court has jurisdiction to investigate widespread allegations that Myanmar forces have driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from their homes. The decision opens up the possibility of crimes against Rohingya people being prosecuted at the Hague-based court, even though Myanmar is not a member of the court. The court said in a statement that Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda must take the jurisdiction ruling into account "as she continues with her preliminary examination concerning the crimes allegedly committed against the Rohingya people." It said the probe, which aims to establish whether there is sufficient evidence to launch a full-blown investigation, "must be concluded within a reasonable time." Bensouda has not formally announced a preliminary examination, but the judges in their ruling said that prosecutors' work so far studying the Rohingya issue serves that purpose.

NEW DELHI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis held long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional partners. The talks were scheduled to last just a few hours and focus on strategic and security topics. They came amid a series of divisive issues, including Washington's demands that India stop buying Iranian oil and a Russian air-defense system and news reports that President Donald Trump privately mimicked the accent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But with trade and strategic ties growing quickly between the U.S.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A computer programmer working for the North Korean government was charged with devastating cyberattacks that hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment and unleashed the WannaCry ransomware virus that infected computers in 150 countries and crippled parts of the British health care system, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Park Jin Hyok, who is believed to be in North Korea, conspired to conduct a series of attacks that also stole $81 million from a bank in Bangladesh, according to charges unsealed in Los Angeles federal court following years of investigation. The U.S. believes he was working for a North Korean-sponsored hacking organization.

TOKYO (AP) — Floods, typhoons, earthquakes and a record-shattering heat wave. The summer of 2018 has been an unusually destructive and deadly one in Japan, even for a country prone to natural disasters: JUNE 18: OSAKA EARTHQUAKE A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck during the morning rush hour in the city of Osaka, killing five people and injuring more than 400 others. Two of the victims were hit by falling cinder-block walls, including a 9-year-old girl outside her school, sparking an inspection and tearing down of many of the aging structures. ___ JULY: WEST JAPAN FLOODS Unusually heavy rain in western Japan claimed 221 lives as landslides buried homes and rivers broke through embankments.

GUCHENG, China (AP) — They were the first photos Marip Lu had ever taken of her son, and it broke her heart to think they might be the last. The little boy was standing in their living room in rural China with his tiny chest puffed out, brown eyes beaming as he watched cartoons on TV. She wanted to remember him this way — smiling, playful, innocent. Just three years old, he had no idea his mother was facing a heart-wrenching choice that would change their lives: stay with him and the family holding her hostage, or leave him behind and be free.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights that one judge said would "pave the way for a better future." The 1861 law, a relic of Victorian England that hung on long after the end of British colonialism, was a weapon used to discriminate against India's gay community, the judges ruled in a unanimous decision. "Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality," Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, reading the verdict. "Social morality cannot be used to violate the fundamental rights of even a single individual." As the news spread, the streets outside the courthouse erupted in cheers as opponents of the law danced and waved flags.

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in Thailand have arrested 12 people who shared a Facebook post about a rape allegation by a British tourist who claims that the police refused to accept her complaint when she reported the crime. Winyat Chatmontree, a lawyer for the 12 Thai men said Thursday they were arrested in several different provinces this week for violating the Computer Crime Act. They could face up to five years in prison and fines for spreading false information and damaging national security. Police deny turning away the British woman and say their investigation determined her claim of being raped on the island of Koh Tao in June was untrue.